Hansard -- Monday, February 24, 2003 p.m. -- Vol. 11, No. 13 (HTML)



CONTENTS

	Routine Proceedings
		Page

Introductions by Members		4977

Introduction and First Reading of Bills		4977
	Agrologists Act (Bill 4) Hon. S. Hagen Auditor General Act (Bill 9) Hon. G. Collins Energy and Mines Statutes Amendment Act, 2003 (Bill 10) Hon. R. Neufeld

Statements (Standing Order 25b)		4978
	Blockade in Hazelton area D. MacKay Alberni-Qualicum area youth commended G. Trumper High-technology industry in Burnaby R. Lee

Oral Questions		4979
	Rules for salary holdback for cabinet ministers J. MacPhail Hon. G. Collins Fair Pharmacare program J. Kwan Hon. C. Hansen Extended care services at Mount St. Francis Hospital B. Suffredine Hon. K. Whittred Recall legislation J. MacPhail Hon. G. Plant Fee increases in parks B. Kerr Hon. J. Murray

Ministerial Statements		4982
	2010 Olympic Winter Games Hon. G. Campbell J. MacPhail

Tabling Documents		4983
	Auditor general report No. 9, A Review of Government Oversight of Multi-Employer Public Sector Pension Plans in British Columbia Auditor general service plan 2003-04 – 2005-06

Budget Debate (continued)		4983
	W. McMahon J. Kwan Hon. S. Hagen Hon. G. Bruce V. Roddick Hon. L. Reid Hon. S. Hawkins Hon. G. Halsey-Brandt Hon. S. Santori

Hon. R. Thorpe: Today visiting the buildings we have the executive of the British Columbia Wine Institute: Tony Stewart, the chairman; Rod King, representing the growers; Harry McWatters from Summerland; and Olivier Combret. Just to show you their commitment to the industry, Olivier Combret and his wife had a baby, a son, last night at 6:30 p.m., and his name is Remi. I understand they're going to be meeting with the opposition and the government later today. Would everyone please make them welcome to Victoria.

Hon. G. Campbell: Today in the gallery we have four citizens from the Arrow Lakes region who are donating generously of their time to help develop solutions to the age-old problem of how we can create fixed links across the Arrow Lakes. They are not asking for money, but they're doing something even better. They're making suggestions for how we can solve that problem. They include Bill Cowan, the mayor of Nakusp; Helmut Klughammer, former director of the regional district of Central Kootenay; Ralph Allen, a prominent Nakusp business person; and Rod Power of Vernon.

D. MacKay: In the gallery today visiting from the province of Ontario, where it is extremely cold at the present time, I have some friends who are in Victoria. I took them on a tour this morning through the Legislature. I would like to introduce Jim and Mary Roberts and Jerry and Lorraine Woods. I would ask the House to please make them welcome.

P. Sahota: Joining us in the House today are two wonderful young people. One is Desiree Dupuis, who just started working with the government caucus as an ALA. Desiree is a dedicated and hard-working individual, who recently graduated from UVic with a bachelor of commerce in international business, and it's a pleasure to have Desiree join our team. The other is my legislative assistant, Frank Costa. Would the House please make them welcome.

Hon. S. Santori: It gives me a great pleasure to introduce to the House today someone who has been contributing significantly to the economy of Victoria for the past couple of days, and one who is doing a real good job of spending the money I'm going to get from my ministry for meeting my targets. I would ask the House welcome my wife, Wendy, here to Victoria

B. Suffredine: In addition to the Arrow Lakes group mentioned by the Premier, we have two additional guests here today from the Kootenays. One is the chairman of the Columbia Basin Trust, here today wearing his hat as regional district director — that's Josh Smienk — and also my constituency assistant, Stephen Harris. Would the House please make them both welcome.

W. McMahon: I think it's the day for the Kootenays. Although I don't have anybody to introduce this afternoon, I would like to acknowledge the 88 students from David Thompson Secondary School in Invermere who were here earlier today. They are accompanied by five adults and their band teacher, Mr. Greg Constable, who actually taught my son to play the saxophone many years ago. They're on their annual band trip. Their next stop is Mission, and I know that they enjoyed themselves today. I'm sure they'll enjoy the rest of their tour.

Hon. S. Hagen presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Agrologists Act.

Hon. S. Hagen: I move the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill 4 introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Hon. G. Collins presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Auditor General Act.

Hon. G. Collins: I am pleased to introduce the Auditor General Act. This act will confirm in statute practices that have evolved since the first Auditor General Act was passed back in 1979. It will also support the changing information needs of the Legislative Assembly. The new Auditor General Act will confirm the independence of the auditor general in such matters as the auditor's appointment, the approval process for the auditor general's budget, access to information and the

The new act also strengthens the auditor general's accountability to the Legislative Assembly. The mechanism, frequency and standards of reporting to the Legislature have been clearly defined. There will now be a requirement to provide annually, to a committee of the Legislature, a three-year audit plan as well as a service plan.

Other important issues addressed are the scope of audit coverage and audit services provided by the auditor general. I would like to congratulate the auditor general, the previous auditor general, members of various Public Accounts committees as well as numerous staff people, who have worked on this piece of legislation over the last decade.

With that, I move the bill be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill 9 introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Hon. R. Neufeld presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Energy and Mines Statutes Amendment Act, 2003.

Hon. R. Neufeld: This bill makes several minor amendments to six statutes: the Coal Act, the Hydro and Power Authority Act, the Mineral Tenure Act, the Mines Act, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act, and the Utilities Commission Act. The amendments that I am introducing today illustrate our commitment to cutting red tape and creating a thriving private sector economy that supports high-paying jobs for British Columbians.

The Coal Act will be amended to streamline the coal reserve creation process and to repeal a redundant requirement. Amendments to the Hydro and Power Authority Act will define what constitutes support services for the purposes of outsourcing and the role of the B.C. Utilities Commission with respect to agreements for support services. Consistent with the energy plan, the goal is to obtain cost-efficiencies and better service for B.C. Hydro customers.

The Mineral Tenure Act is being amended to assign to the chief gold commissioner the authority for regulations to establish and rescind no-staking reserves. It is also being amended to remove duplication of review for small projects that would otherwise be exempted by the reviewable projects regulation.

Amendments to the Mines Act will allow for increased environmental protection through enhanced compliance and enforcement authority. There will also be changes to reduce the workload for minesites that are not considered to be mines by the chief inspector, and changes are being made to prevent the duplication of permitting processes.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Act is being amended to reduce regulatory burdens on industry by making the rules and processes clearer and more effective.

The Utilities Commission Act amendment clarifies that the entity that enters into a support service agreement with B.C. Hydro is not a public utility.

The amendments that I'm introducing today are small but important steps towards meeting our new-era commitment to cut the regulatory burden by one third within three years. They are part of the government's overall plan to restore sound fiscal management in British Columbia. Several changes also support the province's new energy plan announced November 25, 2002 — Energy for our Future: A Plan for B.C.

I move that the bill be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill 10 introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

D. MacKay: I take this opportunity to advise this House of a serious situation occurring in the riding of Bulkley Valley–Stikine. Near the community of Hazelton, a blockade has been set up by native Indians, preventing over 70 loggers — some of whom are also native — from going to work. Following the collapse of SCI, the loggers' economic lifeline became and remains fragile. Our government authorized a 35 percent export quota to keep the banker at bay. To date, only 2,095 cubic metres, 45 truckloads — not enough to keep the Carnaby mill at Hazelton going for one day — have been exported.

The Gitxsan natives appealed the transfer of the tenure to the new company. The subsequent ruling by the court was that the transfer tenure would be accepted, subject to further consultation. The unemployment rate in the Hazeltons is over 60 percent and as high as 90 percent in the Gitxsan communities. With the impending March breakup, the loggers need these extra continuous weeks of seasonal employment to qualify for employment insurance. The Hazeltons need the certainty of continuous employment for its citizens in order to provide an economic base. The frustration with the seeming inability to deal with these issues in a timely manner has resulted in a potentially volatile situation. For our new heartlands economic strategy to work, we need to find solutions to these types of crises.

It is my understanding that the community will gather tomorrow evening to discuss this matter. I hope the results of Tuesday night's meeting in Hazelton will bring an end to this crisis.

G. Trumper: Today, as Vancouver and British Columbia celebrate the positive results of the plebiscite for the Olympics, I want to introduce three young people in my community who are an example to young people when you have a dream.

Jimmy Pelk is 17 years old and is a grade 11 student. He is an eight-time B.C. provincial karting champion and the 2000 Canadian junior karting champion. He competed in the Fran-Am sporting event in Phoenix, Arizona, and placed in the top five based upon speed, attitude, teamwork and racing ability. He will compete this year in British Columbia and throughout North America.

Carly Haggard is 21 and is a senior at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. She was a member of the Canadian under-22 national hockey team and was in the top ten in scoring in division 1 for the past four years and last year placed first in scoring. She has been nominated twice for the Patty Kazmaier Award, and her future plans include making the Canadian Olympic women's hockey team.

Cody Morton is 14. He was the Saturday morning host on CHOO-FM in Tofino from January to March 2000 and is now hosting the Saturday afternoon show on AV 1240. In addition, he has co-hosted On the Island with Lisa Cordasco of CBC radio. He was the master of ceremonies at the annual salmon festival in Port Alberni, and he was voted Port Alberni's best radio DJ in 2000 and 2001. These have been submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records in the new category of youngest radio host.

These are just three young people who are shining examples to the young people in this province who are going to be out there working and striving to be part of the 2010 Olympics.

R. Lee: I have the great honour to rise in the House today to speak about the tremendous economic potential of my community of Burnaby. Many of you heard the news last week that eBay, a major Internet auction service, announced it will open its first Canadian call centre in my riding of Burnaby North. This call centre will employ more than 600 people, and recruitment already began last Saturday in a BCIT job fair. This new employment will certainly be a welcome boost to our local economy, but beyond that, having a top-notch Internet company like eBay setting up operations reinforces Burnaby's place on the international information technology map.

We in Burnaby knew before that our community was the destination for technology. With companies like Ballard Power Systems, PMC-Sierra, Creo Products and Electronic Arts Canada, there was certainly no doubt in my mind. Indeed, B.C. is open for business, and because of that, so is Burnaby. Through this government's commitment to building a new era for knowledge workers, we have been successful in getting that message out to the international high-tech community.

I have stood in this House in the past and spoken about the need for British Columbia to add to our traditional resource-based economy, by diversifying our economy and attracting new investment. We must adapt to the new global economy. B.C. is well suited to become Canada's leader for the research and development sector, and Burnaby's ready to lead the charge. Down the road I see not just eBay opening its doors in Burnaby but many other companies, large and small, that recognize the exceptional climate Burnaby has to offer.

J. MacPhail: Last week we learned that the Minister of Finance has created a $210 million salary protection slush fund for ministers. Can the Minister of Finance tell this House when he will approve and disburse salary payments to himself and other ministers for coming in on budget? Will he do that once the final public accounts for last year have been prepared and signed off by the auditor general or sooner than that?

Hon. G. Collins: The answer to her question exists in the legislation, for which she was here in the House and debated a little over a year ago. The answer is: when the public accounts come out. I want to make note, however, because I think it's important — I've been getting some advice over the weekend and am about to get more from the member opposite — for the House to put this in context to determine whether or not they think I should take that advice. In the three years that the member opposite was Minister of Finance…. In the 1997-98 fiscal year, Budget '98, five ministries were over budget, and the government had to bring in a number of special warrants in order to meet its spending target.

In Budget '99, four ministries were over budget, and the government had to bring in…. I think the total that year was about $236 million over budget.

In 1999-2000, the final public accounts showed total CRF spending for the year was $1.4 billion over budget.

J. MacPhail: Well, actually, I wouldn't have to give advice if this minister were operating under the same

rules that existed during that period of time. The difference is that the minister changed the rules. He used this big majority to change the rules.

He's absolutely right. The Balanced Budget and Ministerial Accountability Act says that salary holdback will not be paid to ministers until the day after the final public accounts are made public. But here's what the system used to be. In years past, public accounts distributes spent contingency money to the minister who spends it, as it should — unless the minister is deciding to change that rule as well.

J. MacPhail: We know now that the final audited books for the budget 2002-03 will show at least six ministers coming in over budget, unless this minister is going to stand up and change the way public accounts operate.

Why is the minister claiming that the ministers have come in under budget when, in fact, we won't know — and he doesn't know for sure — who has overspent until the final audited books are made public?

Hon. G. Collins: I would encourage the member to go back and check her facts and read the legislation, as well as go back and look at the budgets she presented to this House.

Let me just read into the record the description of vote 48 in the 1999-2000 budget year, which the member opposite introduced as the Minister of Finance. That's the contingencies vote. It says:

I believe that if the member checks, she'll find that's the exact wording in the budget this year and last year as well.

J. MacPhail: I know that Mr. Bond had words to describe this Minister of Finance, but I think today that even Mr. Bond will be amazed at what that minister just stood up and said.

In the past, regardless of what contingencies were used for, the public accounts allocated that spending to the bottom line of ministers. This government changed the rules so that their salary protection fund is there solidly for them. It doesn't get allocated to the ministers' bottom line, so even if they overspend, they all get their money, as the Minister of Management Services was so gleefully doing.

If the same rules had applied as in the past, at least six of them would have overspent. The Minister of Finance claiming that the six ministers underspent is like awarding the Grey Cup based on the betting line in Las Vegas rather than the actual final score of the game.

Will the minister admit that the government's claims that all ministers came in on or under budget is fiction and that based on past accounting practices, at least six ministers — maybe more — will come in over budget once the final books are audited and released?

Hon. G. Collins: Heaven forbid we should keep our books according to past accounting practices in the province. If the rules that are in place today had been in place through ten years of NDP government, that member would owe money to the taxpayers of British Columbia. We have put in place…

Hon. G. Collins: …the most open, the most transparent, the most clear set of financial documents anywhere in Canada, if not within the Commonwealth. I am more than proud of the work that the members of this caucus and the staff have done, the Ministry of Finance, in order to get there.

I would just remind that member opposite that in each of the three years that she was Minister of Finance, the contingencies vote was fully spent…

Hon. G. Collins: …and ministries still had cost overruns within their ministries which had to be paid for in special warrants or statutory spending authorities.

Hon. G. Collins: Mr. Speaker, I will put the credibility of this government and our reputation and our ability to manage the books up against that minister's record any day of the week.

J. Kwan: The Minister of Finance didn't answer the question. Let's try a different minister.

Today the Minister of Health Services has announced his new scheme to cut government spending on medicine by some $90 million. That's a huge cut — no way to sugar-coat it.

Under the old system, prior to 2001, a senior woman with a fixed income of $31,000 paid $200 deductible. Since then, the Liberal government has increased that deductible to $275. Can the minister please advise us what — let's say a woman named Barb — a woman born in 1940 with a fixed income of $31,000 can anticipate paying per year for her medicine once she turns 65?

Hon. C. Hansen: Actually, this is a great news story for Barb — the example the member just used. If Barb was born in 1940, that means she's 63 years old today. Today, with an income of $31,000, she would be facing an annual maximum ceiling of $2,000 a year. Under the new Fair Pharmacare program that takes effect on May 1, her annual ceiling will come down to $600 a year.

J. Kwan: The fact is that the minister actually didn't answer the question. The minister did not answer the question. The question to the minister was….

J. Kwan: My earlier question to the minister was: what can she anticipate paying per year for her medicine once she turns 65? Barb's deductible will increase to $1,200 a year under the new Liberal scheme. Based upon the government's own data, Barb, as an average senior, can anticipate somewhere in the neighbourhood of $900 a year for prescriptions once she turns 65. That means this Liberal government just kicked Barb off Pharmacare, but it won't be until…

J. Kwan: …the end of 2005 that Barb bears the full impact of this new policy. It happens to be election year. Can the minister please tell us how important the fixed election date was in determining the implementation of this new policy?

What this new Fair Pharmacare program says is that seniors who are already locked into fixed incomes, seniors that have planned their retirement based on knowledge of what the Pharmacare program in place is, can be reassured that low- and middle-income seniors will either remain the same or the vast majority of those low- and middle-income seniors will in fact see their costs come down under this new plan.

Unlike the previous government, which couldn't plan even a month ahead, never mind a year ahead in terms of planning for the future, this government is positioning our health care plans so that they are sustainable as the baby-boom generation starts to reach retirement years. Quite frankly, as that member knows and as everybody knows, the current health care system will be under serious strain in the future with the growing number of seniors that are coming into the system. We're structuring something that is fair, that can be anticipated, that older British Columbians can plan for as they get into their senior years, and I'm quite proud…

Hon. C. Hansen: …of where this government is coming from in Fair Pharmacare.

B. Suffredine: I'm from the heartland community of Nelson. In Nelson there is great concern about the future of extended care at Mount St. Francis Hospital. Existing providers are being allowed to submit proposals to replace care beds first. My constituents are concerned that the private facility six miles out of town will be given preferential treatment. Can the Minister of State for Intermediate, Long Term and Home Care

assure my constituents that preferential treatment will not be given to any proposal?

Hon. K. Whittred: To the member: I want to acknowledge how important this issue is to his community and certainly that quality care is the number one priority not only of the ministry but also of the community of Nelson. When facilities are being upgraded, there are many qualities that are put in place. First of all, all operators who submit proposals must have a history of quality care. We also need to ensure that the process passes a fairness test so that private and non-profit operators are in fact encouraged to submit proposals and to partner with the health authority. Part of the insurance of that fairness is that current operators are given first opportunity to submit proposals in new developments.

J. MacPhail: The Minister of State for Deregulation was reported on the weekend to have said that recall legislation in B.C. is unworkable. I remind the Attorney General that his party campaigned on a promise to make it "easier to hold your MLA accountable" as part of the new-era promise. Now that the former non-partisan recall advocate, who has become the Minister of State for Deregulation and who has perhaps more experience with this legislation than anyone else in B.C., has come out against the current legislation, can the Attorney General tell us when he will keep his promise and introduce amendments to the Recall and Initiative Act to make it more accountable?

Hon. G. Plant: The new-era commitment was to make recall and initiative workable. If the member has some suggestions in that regard, I would, as always, be happy to hear from her.

B. Kerr: My question is to the Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection. Last month the minister announced her intention to raise and introduce new fees for B.C. provincial parks. At the time she stated: "Nothing we're announcing changes our system of full public control of our park, fish and wildlife recreation services and full public ownership of B.C. parks." My question to the minister is: how does she justify these fees and increases, and can she explain to British Columbians how they can expect to benefit by paying more to visit recreational sites around the province?

Hon. J. Murray: Our government grappled with a challenge. That challenge is that our park system doubled in the last decade, but funding for parks had been declining since the late 1980s. We really had two choices. We could continue to see services deteriorate in our parks, or we could find another management and funding model for parks, as well as fish and wildlife recreation. We chose that second option. What I am very pleased to tell the public — and I've seen a tremendous amount of support for it — is that, finally, fees for parks, fish and wildlife are being dedicated to maintaining and improving those services. That's something that people — user groups and the public — have asked for, for many decades — that those fees go directly back into providing those services. And that's what we're doing with this new model.

Hon. G. Campbell: I rise to make a brief ministerial statement with regard to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In short, we're out to win that bid on July 2.

On Saturday the people of Vancouver gave a resounding "yes" to hosting the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. That was a resounding…. It was a record-breaking turnout: 134,000 Vancouverites attended the polls, and 64 percent supported the bid for the 2010 Olympic Games.

I just want to take a moment to congratulate all who participated in this activity. I want to congratulate the communities of Whistler and Vancouver, the Squamish first nation, the Lil Wat first nation and all of those who put their time, effort and energy into bringing this bid together.

I can report to you today that there was a nationwide poll that was released on Sunday. Ninety-one percent of all Canadians who had an opinion on whether this should be going forward voted yes for the Winter Olympics for Canada.

Over the last number of weeks I have visited communities all over our province, from Rossland to Trail, Revelstoke, Invermere and Cranbrook. I've been in Kamloops. I've been in Fort St. John. We've been in Terrace, Smithers, Courtenay. All over this province people are excited about the opportunities that the 2010 Olympic Games present to them. Olympic live sites give special opportunities to communities all over this province to make the Olympics their own.

We know as we do this that our young athletes are excited about the future. They are excited about working hard, dedicating themselves and disciplining themselves so that they can stand on the number one position on the podium right here in the province of British Columbia. This week the International Olympic Committee will be visiting our province to go through the site to see what's taking place. They'll be meeting with the Prime Minister, the mayors and the bid committee.

We are now in the last stretch. On July 2 of this year the decision will be made in Prague by the members of the International Olympic Committee as to whether or not we are going to be given the honour of hosting the Olympics.

This is an opportunity for all of us to strengthen our province. It's an opportunity for all of us to show our

pride in this great nation and our commitment to the Olympic spirit. This is an opportunity for all of us to come together and do what British Columbia can do best — think about the future of this province, think about the young people of this province and think of what we can do when we work together.

As Mike Leavitt pointed out to us when he visited in December from Utah, this is an opportunity for all of us, in all walks of life, in all regions of this province to come together to do something that will be a true legacy of excellence for the future of the province of British Columbia.

J. MacPhail: Yes, it was a very active, engaged city that we had on Saturday, with conclusive results that are good for the Olympics, good for British Columbia. It is true what the Premier says — that now is the time for us to join together, because here's what happened in Vancouver when they had a say: people became actively engaged. Things changed around the Olympic bid from the time the COPE city council promised the plebiscite to when the plebiscite was actually held. Things changed for the city. They got better and better and better.

Here are just a couple of things that happened while that plebiscite was being held: $10 million more for HIV/AIDS in Vancouver; hundreds of units of social housing dedicated to Vancouver; a commitment — a commitment verbally, but one that's being embraced by the IOC itself — to not rent-gouge during the Olympics. That's great news for the city of Vancouver, and that's what happens when a city gets actively engaged in an issue that touches their hearts.

Now is the time for the Premier, in his role, and his caucus, who are responsible for the entire province, to engage them on the same level, to get them involved in the Olympics and to make sure the benefits that Vancouver has as a result of holding that plebiscite go to all others in British Columbia. Wouldn't it be…?

J. MacPhail: God, they don't even like it when you agree with them. [Laughter.]

J. MacPhail: The Premier says it's hard to tell. I don't think it's that hard to understand when people in the rest of British Columbia want to be actively engaged the same way the city of Vancouver was and that the people in the rest of the province want to understand what the Olympics mean for them.

My colleague and I will be working on giving them that forum through the Public Accounts Committee to allow the rest of British Columbia — the mayors, who may have some concerns or have some issues — to come down to the Public Accounts Committee, meet with the auditor general and meet with the bid committee, like they have not yet been. What's good for Vancouver should be good for the rest of the province.

Mr. Speaker: I have the honour to present the following reports: auditor general report No. 9, A Review of Government Oversight of Multi-Employer Public Sector Pension Plans In British Columbia, and auditor general Service Plan, 2003/04-2005/06.

Mr. Speaker: The budget debate will resume in a moment with the member for North Vancouver–Seymour. The debate was adjourned by the member for Columbia River–Revelstoke.

W. McMahon: Continuing with my remarks of late Thursday last week before the close of the day, I was discussing education, forestry, transportation, mining and tourism, and acknowledging the hard-working, dedicated and resourceful people who live in Columbia River–Revelstoke who have given me the privilege of representing them as MLA.

I would like to expand on my infrastructure comments that I made earlier. The long overdue upgrading of the transportation network has been a priority of mine since being elected to this House. Without a doubt, the biggest area of concern in both Golden and Revelstoke, and actually through the whole riding, is the safety of the Trans-Canada Highway from the west side of Revelstoke through the Rogers Pass to the Alberta border. More specifically, I think that improvements to all of the Trans-Canada Highway are in order. The stretch that I'm talking about has been neglected for far too long.

Since being elected, we've worked hard to change that. At this time last year, I accompanied the Minister of Transportation for a tour along the stretch of highway so the minister could see firsthand the concerns shared by residents. In March last year, I was fortunate to be part of a $10 million announcement for improvements to the Victoria Road intersection on the Trans-Canada Highway in Revelstoke, as well as the $50 million announcement for improvements to the Five Mile Bridge on the Trans-Canada Highway just outside of Golden. These projects began this past summer.

Now, with more discussion around improvements to the Kicking Horse Canyon section of the highway, it is welcome news not only for the residents of British

Columbia and for our visitors but for commercial transports who either enter or leave B.C. via this important transportation corridor. In August of 2001, I was confident that we would have lights in the tunnels in the Rogers Pass, a big project which I'm happy to say is almost complete, since all but two have lighting now. It has been approximately 40 years since the road was opened, and it is with thanks that I acknowledge our Minister of Transportation for listening. In doing so, I must also acknowledge the federal government for its commitment to lighting their tunnels through Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks. It is in this spirit of cooperation that I am confident that more improvements will be announced soon.

I have lobbied for transportation improvements for both the Trans-Canada Highway and the Cranbrook Airport so that tourism industry stakeholders, such as Panorama Mountain Village near Invermere, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies in both Kimberley and Fernie, and Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in Golden would have the ability to grow their businesses and encourage tourists to come and spend their money in the region.

More importantly, I've lobbied for improvements to the Trans-Canada Highway so that lives can be saved on this very dangerous stretch of road. There have been approximately 12 deaths a year between the Alberta border and Revelstoke, and the cost is too high to ignore.

As I stated previously, the needed expansion of our Cranbrook Airport is important to the entire region as it would open the door for both business and tourists to discover our region. The hard-working individuals involved in moving this project forward should be commended. As my colleague from East Kootenay said last week, the recognition that regional airports are economic engines is very good news for rural B.C. and in particular the Kootenay region, which is looking forward with great anticipation to the expansion of the Cranbrook Airport.

We have a dedicated fuel tax to promote investment in transportation. This fuel tax will end the debate over tolls on the inland ferries. Our government has listened and has responded to ferry users, and we will continue to cooperate with users to meet our transportation demands.

The forest industry is the primary employer in my riding and has been through difficult times. The importance of this industry throughout the province really cannot be described in words. Forestry has supported families for generations, and we are going to make sure it continues to be a strong supporter of our communities. As government we plan to open up a revitalized forestry industry. We are going to introduce legislation to create a working forest land base. We will pass forest reforms to diversify tenure and move toward market-based stumpage that is regionally sensitive and socially responsible. We will ensure there is more timber available for innovative, smaller local operators through the B.C. timber sales program and also for first nations. We want our forest workers to look to their future with confidence and optimism.

We must revitalize the industry. I'm told it will not be easy, nor will it be painless or welcome by all, but it must be done. It cannot wait. As much as things have changed over the years, and more noticeably over the past decade, many things have stayed the same. Tourism is huge in my area of the province. It is critical to the government's heartlands economic strategy. Over the next seven to eight years the government wants to see our tourism industry more than double in size. Think of the opportunities, and believe in the challenge.

I was pleased to see the positive vote for the 2010 Winter Olympics on Saturday. We have tremendous opportunities to give the Kootenays the tourism exposure it deserves. Two billion people watched the opening and closing ceremonies of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. It's impossible to buy that type of exposure for British Columbia, and I know that the 2010 Olympics provides tremendous opportunity to let the world know what we have to offer in the Kootenays.

B.C. parks will play a big role in tourism opportunities. The final report of the independent stewardship recreation panel was recently released and recognizes that parks need to serve their visitors. To do this, there will be a user fee. As we expect more amenities in our parks, there is a price attached. The money we collect from users will go back into the parks. We have some of the best places in the world to recreate. I have spoken with tourism operators who do not think the higher camping fees will keep tourists away; nor do they think the increase in licensing fees for anglers or hunters will deter participants. They are willing to pay their fair share. What has been done through this recreational model is put parks, fish and wildlife recreation on a sound financial footing. We have a great product to sell, and through fees we will protect and enhance what we have to offer.

Health care continues to be the central focus of this government. As we recognize and focus our efforts on the need for a healthy economy, we must also recognize that without one, there are many, many opportunities we may miss as we struggle to provide necessary services within a limited framework. The East Kootenay has seen significant changes in the way health care is delivered. Many people are angry, and many people are concerned. Everyone recognizes that we need sustainable health care now and in the future. The question I am asked most frequently is: how? How do we provide sustainable health care?

The interior health authority was given responsibility for managing health care in our region last April. They have been busy implementing changes to provide services within their budget. Unfortunately, many people do not understand why the changes are necessary and how they will create a sustainable health care system that will be there for the long term. We still have a lot of work to do, and part of our job is to get our message out.

We are moving forward in British Columbia, and this budget proves it. We have implemented change,

and change is never easy. The past 18 months have been both challenging and exciting for all members of this government. This budget shows we are on track. Our projected deficit is now $600 million lower than forecast. We have more resources for students. We will have better transportation infrastructure and a revitalized forest industry in a stronger and more competitive economy. It's good news, and I'm proud to be part of the process.

I rise today to engage in the budget debate. It is interesting — what I've heard today so far and over the last week. The MLAs in this Legislature have risen up — the government MLAs, that is…. Liberal member after Liberal member has stood on their feet and paid homage to a budget that raises taxes on their constituents and continues to cut their services. If the Liberals actually ran on such a platform, you can be sure that there would be a lot fewer of them in this House to defend this budget. In fact, there was one person who ran on such a platform, and that was Daniel Lee. He ran in my colleague's riding, Vancouver-Hastings — the Leader of the Opposition. Guess what. He didn't get elected. He's not here today.

Can you imagine? Gordon Campbell and his B.C. Liberal team will raise your taxes and cut your services. They might have been laughed at, but at least they would have been honest. That's exactly what this budget does: $600 million in new taxes in the next two years.

What are these taxes? From the budget book: the gas tax; the Tobacco Tax Act; school property taxes, both in the urban centres as well as the rural communities, where the school property tax in the rural community is under the rural area tax act; and insurance premiums. In fact, when you go and buy insurance for your property, as one example, you'll find that tax has gone up. It will be going up effective January 1, 2004.

Those are the things that we have not heard in this House from any Liberal MLA from the government side. Of course, that's on top of sales tax increases last year, the MSP premium increases, tuition fee increases, ICBC increases and Hydro increases — just to name a few. For all those new taxes and fees, the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection just said: "Hooray, we increased fees for park and recreational services." You've got to ask the question, and I think most British Columbians are wondering: what do we get in return? Actually, nothing — less than nothing. What they get are cuts — $90 million worth of cuts to Pharmacare. That was just announced today.

If you were a person born in 1940 who turns into a senior in 2005, your Pharmacare costs would increase by $1,200. You will no longer pay what was, under the NDP government, $200 worth of deductible, which has subsequently been increased by the Liberal government to $275. Under this new scheme, you would pay over $1,000 for your Pharmacare coverage. That is the reality.

A $250 million cut to the income assistance budget. Little wonder the Deputy Minister of Human Resources, it was reported in the paper today, got a $16,000 bonus for cutting people off income assistance. I would venture to say, based on the experience I have had in my own constituency office, that it's irrespective of need. People who need support from the government cannot get it, because the rules have changed.

The government has the audacity to come into this House with the MLAs thumping their desks, cheering and saying that 55,000 people are off income assistance. I hesitate to ask this question, because it appears to me that nobody cares how many people got cut off income assistance, not because they don't need it, but because they can't access it. I can't tell you how many people have come into my office with that scenario — people who are single parents, people who are struggling on a day-by-day basis and could not get that minuscule support from the government. Yet the government will say: "We will give a bonus of $16,000," — that's almost two income assistance recipients' income for one year for a single person — "to the deputy minister because people got cut off of income assistance." Shocking.

Then, in the public school system, you wonder what's going on there; $13 million got cut from the public education system. That's the public school system. These are programs that provide for, I would argue, much-needed dollars in the classroom — whether it be ESL programs; whether it be teacher assistants for children who are faced with challenges; whether it be teacher-librarians whose hours have been cut back, and therefore access to school libraries is reduced; whether it be just janitorial support in making sure that the school environment is clean; whether it be making sure that the size of the classroom is manageable because of the mixture and the diversity of the students, the range of students, that now appears in our classes.

Inner-city schools, which get school-based funding.… Guess what. The budget will be cut by some $6 million or $7 million. What do those programs provide? They provide anti-bullying programs. They provide assistance for parents who are challenged — ESL parents — to get involved in the school system for their children. It provides hot meal programs, lunch and breakfast programs, for particularly low-income families who often send their children to school without food. It provides for assisting children who are highly marginalized to stay in the school system, so that they have a better opportunity to graduate. Those are just some of the programs — counselling programs for children. That budget is being cut $6 million to $7 million.

On the environmental side, what have we got? Well, with the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, the environmental stewardship program is being cut — over $5 million. The park, fish and wildlife recreational program is being cut — some $6.7 million.

Child protection — $12.5 million is being cut. Services for victims of crime — $5.8 million. Programs for women — there are significant cuts in programs for women's services, over $3 million.

It's a strange combination: huge tax increases and then huge service cuts. The Liberal MLAs who've spoken in this House are saying: "That is just excellent." They're thumping their desks, they're clapping, and they're getting up to say: "This is the best budget we have ever had. How can we not clap?" [Applause.]

My very case in point, Mr. Speaker. Tax increases and service cuts, and the Liberal MLA backbenchers are happy: "Hurray for those British Columbians who have to take more money out of their pockets to buy the services that they formerly had available to them." That makes them happy. That makes them clap. That makes them say, "That is a good job," in terms of what the government is doing.

Of course, this is not a very good explanation for the sad state of affairs. The middle class and the poor are being asked to shoulder a greater tax burden to pay for huge high-income and corporate tax cuts that the Premier gave away in the first hours of his mandate. Thanks to the Premier's foresight, British Columbians are paying more for less in order to give more to British Columbians who already have the most.

It's the kind of logic that is working so well in the United States under President Bush, where budget surpluses have been turned into huge deficits, where unemployment is on the rise and where the promised economic boom never seems to materialize. Sound familiar? It's good, old-fashioned, right-wing supply-side economics. The effect is always the same: the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the middle-class income gets squeezed trying to pay for it all.

In this budget and the one that preceded it, all the Liberals have done is transfer a huge amount of wealth out of the hands of the many into the hands of a few. In so doing, they're taking hundreds of millions of dollars out of the economy and taking away hope for a solid economic recovery.

Of course, the basic facts about who wins and who loses with this budget never cross the lips of the Liberal MLAs, who stand on their feet day after day and drone on. No, they want to put a much kinder and gentler spin on the budget, a compassionate spin on their neoconservative cuts. One of them even had the gall to stand in this chamber and invoke the just society. Although I didn't hear his whole speech, a tortured defence of this budget it must have been. Invoking the just society to defend this budget is a tactic that Orwell would have understood well.

It's just the kind of newspeak approach that the Liberals are mastering. Only those well versed in the art of doublethink could claim, without fear of contradiction, that a $6 million cut to inner-city schools will actually help poor kids. It will help them learn somehow. Pitting school district against school district to fight for reduced funding in that envelope of critical money will somehow be a good thing. That's what the Liberal MLAs would have you believe. That's what the Minister of State for Early Childhood Development would have you believe.

Only those who spend too much time reading Liberal press releases would herald an increase to the education budget when, in fact, it's being cut this year. Only those for whom politics is a cynical exercise would patronize poor people by saying that, in the end, they're better off without any help at all. Only those for whom spin matters more than reality would defend a budget that pours millions of dollars into the Premier's advertising budget when everyone else is experiencing pain.

Just imagine this for one moment. The budget book actually increases what is known as the public affairs bureau — the Premier's communications shop, spin-doctoring shop, advertising shop — by $7 million. Quite incidentally, that $7 million, if transferred to the Ministry of Children and Family Development, would actually provide for the funding for inner-city school kids so that you don't have to pit school district against school district to fight for that fund.

Yes, the storyline the Liberals have constructed to defend their budget is well written. I'm sure some of the best communication hands money could buy edited the copy, but it's still a piece of fiction. There is no mention of the surplus budget that they inherited and squandered with fiscally irresponsible tax cuts. There is no recognition of the fact that the 6.8 percent unemployment rate that was left to them, under the new Liberal government's brilliant leadership has risen to above 8 percent. There is no acknowledgment that the GDP growth in the last full year of the previous administration exceeds anything they have been able to achieve. There is no mention of the fact that when they took over, most families in B.C. already paid the second- or third-lowest taxes in the country. And of course, there is complete silence on whether high-income tax cuts pay for themselves.

Yes, this government has a story to tell. It has handed itself millions of extra taxpayer dollars to make sure it's told just right, with all half-truths, failures and mistakes taken out, and it is sticking to that story no matter what the facts are. It might be a bit amusing to watch, but it is having serious consequences for people's lives. I see the effects every day in my constituency — in the story of a young mother who had to quit school at Vancouver Community College because she could not afford skyrocketing tuition fees; in the faces of the homeless, exhausted and beaten down by a government that seems intent on making their hard lives even harder; and in the pain and humiliation of a father's voice who can't find a job and has to walk miles to the food bank to feed his two children.

Of course, I'm not blaming the government for poverty — it existed when the NDP was in power — but I am blaming this Liberal government for thinking that the best way to fight poverty is to make it a bit

more severe for people to get help. It speaks to our worst instincts. It dehumanizes and it marginalizes even further. It's creating a have and a have-not society, a society where economic opportunity is in the hands of the few, where one's life chance is determined by one's condition at birth and where some are more equal than others. It's a narrow, ideological approach that strays from the core values of compassion, tolerance and social solidarity that are central to our province's self-identity.

If it continues, I fear it's an approach that will end up destroying our shared sense of the collective good which, together with individual ambition and entrepreneurial spirit, has built B.C.; a sense of shared belonging, shared responsibility to others that has given rise to so many things that we cherish and without which we would not recognize our province — medicare, public education, our social safety net, public power, public auto insurance, the B.C. family bonus and so many other collective enterprises that we take for granted but that are being chipped away at by this Liberal government.

B.C. is more than just close to four million people sharing the same chunk of land. It's an idea; it's a responsibility. It's a covenant among those that are living and those that will come after us.

This budget — driven as it is by a simplistic, narrow, right-wing ideology and prescribing it as a massive transfer of wealth into the hands of the few — does not measure up to the greatest of our aspirations and does not provide the vision we need to enter this new century. It only takes us further down a path towards division, uncertainty and social exclusion, to a society where the schism between those at the bottom and at the top is unbridgeable; where opportunity is the preserve of the privileged few; and where the abstract rights of equal citizenship are given no practical expression or meaningful application in the way we choose to divide up the pie.

Budget 2003 hurts the middle class and the poor. It hurts the people I represent in this Legislature: the riding of Vancouver–Mount Pleasant. By taking away opportunity and wealth from the many and putting it into the hands of the few, it hurts our economic recovery. By widening the equality gap, it diminishes our shared sense of citizenship and belonging. As my colleague from Vancouver-Hastings has said before me, this budget is not a recipe for recovery. It's a blueprint for a less compassionate, more unequal and ultimately less prosperous British Columbia.

I want to just touch on, for a moment, my own personal experience being an immigrant. My family and I immigrated here in 1975, a family of eight — not a wealthy family by any stretch of the imagination. We managed to struggle through in the early years when my mother, for the first time, went out into the workforce and earned $10 a day as a farmworker, while my father went to community college to learn English as a second language. We grew up living in poverty. We lived in substandard housing, a 700-square-foot basement suite for a family of eight, but we managed.

The reason we came here, I want to say, is this. Above all else, my parents valued two things that make us uniquely Canadian: our public education system and our public health care system. They wanted their children to have a better opportunity than they did. My mother has a grade 6 education. My father has a grade 11 education. Above all else, they wanted their children to have a post-secondary education and an opportunity for life, to improve their lives — to not be labourers, as they have been over the years, and to not be minimum-wage earners, as they have been. Now they're retired. They wanted, above all else, for the children to have an opportunity. They knew that education was central to that. They could not provide for that in Hong Kong, where I was born, because the private system dominated. Access to education would only be allowed or be available to those who could afford to pay for it. With six kids, with an average family, they could not afford to pay those kinds of tuition fees. So they came here.

They also wanted to make sure — as I think we from all cultures believe in…. Without your health, you've got nothing. The one thing you depend on more than anything else is — good grief, should you be ill or be sick — that you would actually have access to a health care system that will provide for you even if you didn't have a whole lot of money, that you would be able to get medication. Those were the things that they treasured above all else, anything else, and that's why they made the hard move to come here.

You know what, Mr. Speaker? Bit by bit those things are being eroded, as we see before our very own eyes and I see it before my own eyes. I see that tuition fees are going up. I see that in the K-to-12 system, the public education system, the budget is being reduced by $13 million. At the same time, independent schools' budgets — those are the private schools — are being increased. By how much, you may ask? By $10,000 this year. That's in addition to what was increased last year in the independent school system.

With the cuts for the public education system, there is an increase in addition to what was already decreased last year. Never mind post-secondary education. Never mind an increase in tuitions — 30 percent last year, 30 percent again this year and some even higher than that, depending on what kind of program you're involved with. Never mind the post-secondary education system. Even in the K-to-12 public education system, it is becoming hard on families.

I just met with parents from my community — PACs, parent advisory committees — and they told me they made a list of things that they have to pay more into now. Every little fee counts and is adding up. It's hundreds of dollars that people have to pay, which they cannot afford. Nonetheless, if they want their children to have an education, they have to somehow find a way to do it. That's within the public education system.

I met with principals, people who are trying to figure out how to meet the demands of their students, to

ensure the best educational system for the children in their own schools and to make ends meet. They are sitting there telling me it's nearly impossible, if not impossible. Some of them are people who have been in the system for so long, who believe so much in making the classroom a little bit better to enhance the educational opportunities for all children. They are saying: "Boy, I never thought I'd think this, but I'm looking forward to retirement because I cannot make this system work for the children." This is just a couple of weeks ago when I met with them, and that is what they told me.

People are struggling, and they're out there trying to do the best they can. You know what? The sad part is that the government is not there to help them. They're not there to help the people who need it the most, in spite of what the Liberals campaigned on during their new-era campaign, in spite of the fact that they said they will prioritize the people who have the greatest needs and who are most marginalized. Instead, they've abandoned them in a way that, quite frankly, shows no compassion at all.

I want to talk about health care changes, MSP premium increases and people who have had services delisted, whether it be diabetes — people who have diabetes now have to buy their own strips — whether it be eye care or whether it be a range of services that people depend on. Those services were cut last year, and further cuts are being made this year — Pharmacare cuts to the tune of $90 million.

Make no mistake about it. It has to come from somewhere, and it's the patients and the families who will get hurt. I've already used one example earlier. If somebody turns 65 in the year 2005, the increase for Pharmacare is somewhere in the amount of $1,200.

Those are just a few examples. Actually, last week, as I was listening to some of the debate from members in the House, I sat in front of the computer and tabulated the changes in terms of funding cuts from the year 2002-03 to '03-04 to see what the differences are. This is not even an exhaustive list of all the cuts of almost a billion dollars — not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination. I only sat down and made some notes on what some of the changes are with some of the ministries. I found over a billion dollars' worth of cuts.

It's not only the ministries either — and I mentioned a couple of them earlier — but also with what we call the watchdogs, the people who watch what this government is doing and who attempt, of course, to hold them accountable. It's people like the auditor general. There are cuts in the auditor general's office, cuts in the information and privacy commissioner's office, cuts in the ombudsman's office, cuts in the police complaint commissioner's office. That's what's in this budget brought in to this House, which no MLA from the government side has mentioned. Not one of them has talked about what is really in the budget book, what is really in the estimates in a ministry-by-ministry breakdown. If you sat down and worked through those numbers, you would find how great the impacts are. Of course, I just want to caution that this is not in addition to what was already cut last year. We have to add up all of those numbers so that the cumulative number becomes clear, and the picture becomes clear. That is the truth of Budget 2003-04.

For all those MLAs who are sitting there praising the government for what a great job they have done with this budget, I ask them to actually look in the budget book and see what the cuts and the real impacts are for their own constituents. I challenge every one of them to rise up in this House and tell their Premier and their ministers the real story of how it is impacting their communities — those who cannot get the services they need and who depend on the government for that kind of support — and how, quite frankly, no matter how the government dresses it up, it isn't compassion. It isn't.

Humanity does not mean just walking by, watching someone who does not have food on the table, who does not have housing or a roof over their head, and saying: "I'm sorry, our policy is that you can have access to services if you can pay, and you cannot have access to services if you cannot pay." That is not choice. That's not what I believe British Columbians believe in. That's not what I believe British Columbia Canadians believe in.

Hon. S. Hagen: It is with great pleasure that I rise today to speak to the 2003 provincial budget. I have to tell you, I'm proud to be a member of a government that has the courage to lay out a plan and stick to it. The challenges we were presented with when we were elected were formidable. I want to tell you, I was out in Abbotsford on Friday night, and dozens of people came up to me and said: "You guys are on the right track. Stay the course. Tell your Premier and your Finance minister that you guys are all doing a great job."

I was in Courtenay on Saturday night — same thing. People came up to me. They're excited. They know that we're on the right track.

Ten years of mismanagement have left British Columbia with one of the worst economies in the country. I don't think any British Columbian is happy with the fact that we are a have-not province. I don't think anybody who lives here would dream that would happen. Only after ten years of mismanagement by the NDP has that happened.

We were given an overwhelming mandate to change that, and we are delivering. With the 2003 budget, we're beginning to see the benefits of our fiscal discipline. For the first time in more than a half century, every cabinet minister has been able to come in on or under their operating budget. For myself, that means the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management kept its spending at $117 million, and the Minis-

I told you that we're starting to see the benefits of such fiscal discipline. Now let me highlight some of the specific things we've been able to do. British Columbia now has the lowest personal income tax rate in the country on the first $60,000 of income. Our business taxes are competitive, and our economy grew at three times the rate many economists had predicted. Our deficit is a full $600 million lower than planned, and we're on track to bring in a surplus budget of $50 million by the third full year of our fiscal plan.

Restoring sound financial management has meant that we've been able to refocus tax dollars in the areas where they're needed most — for patients, students and people in need. We've been able to increase health care funding by more than $1.1 billion. Education funding has been protected, and per-student funding will rise by $127 per student.

Let me talk a little bit more about the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. As I already mentioned, we were able to bring our spending in on budget at $64 million. Next year we'll bring in a budget of $49 million, and by 2004-05 we'll be on target for a budget of $45 million. The bulk of the reductions over the coming year — $9 million — comes from the removal of the Okanagan Valley Tree Fruit Authority grant. That money is still being paid, but it's coming out of contingencies and does not show on the MAFF budget.

The other reductions will come as no surprise. That's the beauty of a government that lays out a three-year plan and sticks with it. As my colleague told this House last year, six district offices were to be closed by March 31 of this year. Those included Courtenay, Creston, Dawson Creek, Vanderhoof, Sidney and Smithers. Much of that work has already taken place, and the long-planned closures result in more than $1 million in savings.

Other savings already announced include almost $3 million for a reduction of the whole-farm insurance program and close to a million dollars for the crop insurance subsidy. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries is now able to focus on its vision of a competitive and profitable industry providing safe, high-quality food for consumers and export markets.

Our focus is on six key areas. Industry competitiveness. We want to see an agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, and food sector that is competitive in a global economy while providing economic benefit and stability to British Columbia's rural and coastal communities. We can do that by taking on an advocacy role to ensure that B.C.'s farm and fisheries interests are considered in government programs, services, regulations, international and interprovincial trade, negotiations and a fair share of federal funding.

Another core business area is fisheries and aquaculture management. Our goal is to see an optimum economic benefit to B.C. from fisheries and aquaculture while protecting the environment. We're already on that path, and we have one of the most comprehensive regulatory regimes in the world for our aquaculture industry. There is tremendous opportunity here with first nations on the coast particularly. We now have six agreements signed between first nations bands and industry, and we have another two ready to go.

Food safety and quality is another core business area of the ministry. Quite simply, we want a food system that provides consumers and customers with greater confidence in the safety and quality of B.C. food, agriculture and seafood products while protecting the provincial economy from risks. The remainder of our core business areas includes environmental sustainability and resource development, risk management, and executive and support services.

I want to talk a bit about the B.C. heartlands economic strategy. Our Premier recently outlined our government's new economic strategy for the heartlands and how it will open up new opportunities for economic growth throughout our entire province. Turning now to my other portfolio, I can tell you that the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management can facilitate much of that economic development through our ongoing land use planning. Whether it's in Lillooet, the central coast, the Rocky Mountains, the north coast or Queen Charlotte–Haida Gwaii, we're striving to come up with land use plans that strike the right balance between economic, social and environmental concerns. The Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management will help to diversify the economic base of the heartlands, and look for innovative ways to add value to natural resources, by exploring new economic opportunities like wilderness-based tourism and others.

Reduced conflict, more clearly defined areas and overall certainty on the land base are all essential for economic development and supporting the goals of the B.C. heartlands economic strategy. The sustainability principles currently being developed will also play an important role in the B.C. heartlands economic strategy. They do that by improving public and investor confidence in resource development activities that are crucial to the well-being of our heartland communities. They will help lead to greater and more secure access to international markets to sell resources developed in British Columbia's heartlands.

Let's take a look at the ministry in a little more detail. Spending for the fiscal year just ending was on budget at $117 million. That would be held to $92 million next year. Some of that reduction reflects a transfer to Land and Water B.C. for the administration and licensing of Crown water resources. That means water and Crown land allocations are now fully integrated into Land and Water B.C. Land and Water B.C. funds the water management program directly from water revenues.

Another part of our budget reduction came when we transferred the capital and operating budgets for park and ecological reserve acquisitions to the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection. We're working hard to realize our ministry vision of a vibrant economy

supporting the social and environmental values of British Columbians. We do that by focusing on four broad points: sustainable economic development of land and resources; effective delivery of integrated, science-based land resource and geographic information; sound governance of land and resource management; and organizational excellence.

There will be a number of strategies to support these goals. Among them are developing a sustainable resource management framework for working forests, protected areas, mining, and oil and gas development through application of sustainability principles; establishing landscape objectives to increase access to timber while maintaining biodiversity; and expediting resource-based tourism opportunities in rural British Columbia by coordinating activities in Land and Water B.C., the Ministry of Forests, the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, and Tourism B.C. Also, we want to support mining and oil and gas development in the Muskwa-Kechika and other land use plans.

Land and Water B.C. also plays a key role in providing the basis for economic development throughout British Columbia. It's managed to eliminate the backlog and delay in Crown land and water applications. The application process has been redesigned and simplified to achieve a 50 percent reduction in processing time. The Crown corporation is providing faster decisions and greater access to Crown land and water resources to protect and create jobs. Ninety percent of new land applications are processed within 140 days or less. Since June of 2001 more than 1,700 non-power water licence applications have been processed, and 51 power licence applications have been processed. Land and Water B.C. is creating growth in a sustainable, balanced manner. In that same time period, they have attracted $72 million in capital investment, and they're optimizing the financial return to the province, providing a $45 million dividend to government in fiscal 2002.

Working forest. Under the direction of our Premier, our government is setting aside $275 million to assist in the transition to a revitalized and sustainable forest sector. Despite the challenges of that industry, and they've been formidable — the softwood lumber dispute, a forest practices code that strangled the industry with red tape and other misguided policies that saw close to 13,000 people lose their jobs between 1997 and 2002 — it's still our number one industry. Our government is taking bold steps to ensure that we have a leading-edge forest industry once again. We've already brought in the new Forest and Range Practices Act, or results-based code. It streamlines the old, bureaucratic Forest Practices Code. We continue to work with the federal and U.S. governments and B.C. industry to settle the softwood lumber dispute.

This session, legislation will be introduced to create a working forest land base, something our government committed to in its New Era document. The Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management has already unveiled a discussion paper, and we're encouraging stakeholders and the public to respond by March 14 of this year so we can create the best public policy. The working forest is about providing greater certainty for the forest industry, communities and all other uses and values from the land — whether it's tourism, recreation, mining, oil and gas initiatives, agriculture opportunities or ranching.

We believe the land base can provide sustainable jobs for people who want to live and work in their communities, and the working forest simply recognizes that fact. The working forest is one step in helping rebuild forest-dependent communities, along with a new results-based code, resolution of the softwood lumber dispute and the first nations land claims. The goal of the working forest initiative is to enhance land-based certainty for the forest sector, to improve the investment climate and to balance with the needs of other sectors and the environment. This means jobs, a variety of different jobs in a variety of different industries. It means that we will have a working forest for working people. All of the existing land use planning that's going on, efforts to secure treaties with first nations where the province is obligated to consult with first nations and all current parks, protected areas and private land are not impacted by the proposed working forest designation.

In conclusion, let me sum up by recounting some of the highlights from the 2003 budget. Our government's fiscal plan is working. It's on track and ahead of schedule. There is no doubt that we've had to make some tough decisions since June of 2001. While it hasn't always been easy, we promised change, and British Columbians are beginning to see the benefits of our strong fiscal discipline. We're now able to free up more resources, to encourage further growth and investment, and to continue putting patients, students and people in need first. We need to recognize that these strategic investments and priority programs are taking place within the context of the government's overall fiscal plan.

Make no mistake. We are keeping the province on track for a balanced budget in '04-05. We're doing our best to make the most of the scarce resources that are available. We plan and budget to spend those dollars where they will do the most good, to help people and to pave the way for the economic growth that pays for everything government delivers.

Budget 2003 is a plan for prosperity that is prudent, responsible and focused on the future. It meets our objectives and the mandate people elected us to deliver: revitalize the economy, restore sound fiscal management, and put patients, students and people in need first. After a decade of decline, British Columbia is truly on its way to a new era of hope and prosperity.

Hon. G. Bruce: It's a pleasure indeed to stand today and speak about the budget and the work that's been done by the members of this House in bringing in a budget now that clearly shows that in respect to '04-05 and the financial affairs of the province, the budget itself will be balanced.

You know, that's not done without a great deal of effort by many, many people. I heard the member for Vancouver–Mount Pleasant talk in some respect to the members of caucus about the fact that they perhaps are not participating. I think it's very important that we understand clearly what is taking place in this House and how it is that these budgets today are built, where they weren't constructed this way in the past.

The Premier of the province made it very clear that there was to be a very active role by all members — not just the cabinet, but private members. There have been structural changes to that. We have private members who now sit on a variety of cabinet committees, which is something that's very unique in the British parliamentary process. Indeed, several private members sit on Treasury Board. It's Treasury Board, under the guidance of the Minister of Finance, that puts in a fair amount of hours reviewing a number of these issues as the budget is built. It is a good measure, indeed, that there are private members who are part of that process.

Of course, the government caucus committee is another vehicle which has been brought into play in the workings of our government by the Premier of this province so as to provide greater representation by private members into the policy direction. These five committees have been set up in such a manner that all ministers go to one of those five government caucus committees to present what it is they're intending to do. Their service plans are under review. If there's legislation being brought forward, it's first vetted through those government caucus committees on the basis of policy, not the actual legislation itself.

I don't think there's a private member in this House today that would tell you they've got copious hours to sit around and do nothing. In fact, every private member would find their workload is huge, and combined with that which needs looking after in the affairs of their own constituents, this makes for a very sizable workload.

The important point to note is the leadership of the Premier of British Columbia. He said he would revamp things. He's done that. He said we would bring free votes to the Legislature as well. We did that.

In fact, a year ago I had to bring in a piece of legislation. It was with that piece of legislation, in January of last year, that the real test of how free the free votes were going to be in regard to this House was met. We had several private members that stood and spoke against different sections of that legislation. It was a very serious piece of legislation, Bill 29. Then, in fact, some of them voted against sections, and one member voted against the entire bill.

All of those members are still very active and involved in the affairs of caucus, in the government caucus committees that they sit in. Some, indeed, are part of cabinet committees of which they are private members. There's been a major transformation. I think the people of British Columbia ought to know that it's because of the leadership of the Premier and the understanding that once again we need to make this session, this Legislative Assembly, work in a manner that it was meant to. We here in British Columbia are leading the Commonwealth in that respect.

In regards to the other legislatures across Canada, they have nowhere near the type of involvement of private members as we do; nor do they have the freedom to speak and debate in the same way that we do in this Legislative Assembly. People will say to me: "Yes, but that's easy, because there are 77 of you and only two of the other guys." Well, that may be the case, as it is today. Hopefully, in the future it may be 79 to zero. Given the fact that the electorate have their own way of judging as to what the turnout is going to be in the House, the steps that we take now are very important in re-establishing what this Legislative Assembly was meant to be: a house of debate. By virtue of the steps that are being taken today and the debate that's been had, we're building in conventions that I think future governments, regardless of what the numbers may be in the House, will hold to. We'll see that the assembly itself becomes more effective and reflects, really, what it was meant to be.

A very good friend of mine who sat in this House for a number of years was one that espoused much of this. Cyril Shelford was his name. He was a member from up north. Cyril died several years ago — a gentleman that I have great admiration and respect for as one that truly believed in the parliamentary process and the aspect of how debate should take place; an individual who understood the rights and the necessity for a clear and unfettered debate in the House and in bringing issues to the House.

He wrote several books. I have one here that he wrote. It was his first one: From Snowshoes to Politics, by Cyril Shelford. It is, as he claims, a British Columbia adventure. When you read this book, it is in fact a British Columbia adventure. For other private members or other members who haven't read his book, it's interesting to note what he and others during that era had to go through to represent the taxpayers of British Columbia and their own constituents in this riding. Literally walking on snowshoes, as some of my friends from the north would know, to get out to the main road so he could get a car, so he could get to a big city, or bigger city, so he could find a bus. As he recalls, his first trek from home to Victoria took six days — six days to get here so that he could take part in the debate in representing his constituents.

I'd just like to read the overflap of his book here, because it does sum up much about Cyril Shelford and those who have gone before us in this House and what I think we all strive to emulate and to represent, regardless of party.

Each one of us should reflect back, if we have a moment, on individuals such as Cyril that have gone before us, the honour that it is to serve in this House and the reputation that we have to live up to when we think of individuals like Cyril Shelford. I know that Cyril would be proud of the changes that have been made to this Legislative Assembly in the issue of how it runs and works, and how it was meant to run and work, and would be there cheering us on and encouraging all of us — be it members of cabinet and, more specifically, private members — to rise and speak, as our private members are today, in support or against, or in debate or in support of the people of the province on those issues that affect each of them in their own constituencies and, in a larger way, the people of British Columbia.

This budget, as I mentioned, is a compilation of many, many hours and the leadership of the Minister of Finance and the plan that was first put together last year. In fact, when we present budgets today here in Victoria, it's not as it was in the past. It's not just a one-year budget. It's a three-year revolving budget. The transparency acts so all can see the factual listing of the numbers that have been put there and how they forecast out.

We can no longer have the manner in which governments in the past could put an expenditure in a budget and not forecast out how all the revenues were going to be there to look after those expenditures. We now have to very clearly show, if we're embarking upon a road program as was announced just recently, how those improvements — whether it's Kicking Horse Pass, the Sea to Sky Highway or one of the many other rural and northern road projects that have to be undertaken…. We then have to show how it is that we're going to pay for those particular projects. We're doing that. That presents for the people of the province a much better view as to the budgeting process that takes place, those expenditures that are coming in line and those revenues which are going to offset those expenditures as we move forward over the next three years.

In fact, the budget that we brought in this year was the one that's three years out. We brought down last year's budget with three years to it. This year we've added that additional year. What's so very, very important about this budget is that we said as a government it was very important to get our financial house in order. Expenditures were out of hand. The former NDP administration had spent literally millions-cum-billions of dollars in such a reckless manner that it put this province into have-not status, as my colleague from the Comox Valley said earlier — not something that makes us proud.

British Columbians are a proud people. They have not been in a have-not status ever before. We intend, as a government, to work our way through so that we will in fact again be not only a contributor to the national economy but a leader in the national economy. It is shameful, indeed, that after the work — if you want to call it that — of the former administration of the NDP government, we would find ourselves in a have-not status.

This assembly of government members has worked hard and diligently to present a budget with three years rolling to it, so that we can see where we need to get to and how we can go about getting there. We've worked so that you can see that in the year '04-05, the budget in the province will be balanced. That is a great undertaking from where we were first faced with the huge impacts of the former administration.

The $500 million that was blown by the NDP government on building fast ferries isn't just $500 million. That's half a billion dollars. It's not just that you can say: "Well, there's half a billion gone, and too bad." In fact, that half a billion dollars has gone out of the government source of revenues, providing nothing to the people of the province. It was an experiment, a very ill-founded experiment in building these ferries, but the problem is that we still need those ferries.

We still need ferries to run between the mainland and Vancouver Island — that great area of land on Vancouver Island, my home, Cowichan-Ladysmith. We need good ferry service, but that's gone. So we have to go, and we have to get the Ferry Corporation reconstructed. Moneys have to be found. In addition to that half a billion dollars that was blown by the former administration, those moneys have to be found.

I heard the member for Vancouver–Mount Pleasant going on about different adjustments that were being made to the budget in British Columbia. Many of those adjustments have to be made because of the fact that half a billion dollars was blown, because it impacts all the way down through the budget. It was money just completely lost. So then you have to go find other ways of regaining the revenues to be able to do, first of all, what they were attempting to do, but then you have to find additional revenues, as well, to look after many of the social services that we enjoy in B.C.

I think it's also extremely important to understand that our social benefits in the province, as proud as we can be that they are literally the highest of any jurisdiction in Canada…. The problem is that we have the worst-performing economy of any other jurisdiction in Canada. Anybody who tries to balance their own budget understands that you have to be able to balance off your expenditure, or that which you would like to have, with the revenues that are coming in on the other end. Unfortunately, the former administration didn't understand that.

We have the task and the challenge of attempting to get the expenditure side of the budget under control in such a fashion that we can still provide good services to the people of British Columbia, but also understanding on the other side that we need revenues to support that. You hear this thing about tax cuts and that, within minutes of tax cuts, the economy would take off and rocket through the stratosphere.

After ten years of being hammered…. Look at what was hammered in that ten years; look at the forestry

sector. The forestry sector is the engine of the economy of the province, if not a huge generator to the economy of Canada — absolutely thrashed by the former administration. That's your revenue side. That's what makes the province go. It was blown. The IWA used to have 10,000 more members — 10,000 more IWA members — good, solid, union, well-paid jobs in B.C. They were the most powerful and the strongest in the heyday of the Social Credit administration. They were the weakest and have been broken by the former actions of the NDP administration, the very party some of them thought actually represented the little guy and, in fact, we found out has got nothing to do with the little guy at all. They just thrashed the little guy.

Let me tell you. The changes we're attempting to bring through the forestry sector, and the work that Mike de Jong as Minister of Forests is undertaking, is in an effort to again inject life into the forestry sector — to inject life into that forestry industry so that all through the hinterlands, all through small-town British Columbia, we can again have a strong and vibrant forestry sector that provides jobs. In fact, I believe that you'll see the IWA become a strong union again in the province because of good investment policies, because of good environmental policies, because of good forest policy here in British Columbia.

Then, you turn around and look at the other sector they thrashed — the former NDP administration. Take the mining industry, a huge contributor to the economy of the province — virtually cut in half. In those last ten years, were there new mines being developed and opening in British Columbia? Absolutely not. In the late years of the eighties, I think late '89-90, there would be about $250 million a year of exploration work done in developing the mining industry in British Columbia. In the last year of the former NDP administration, how much money was put into the exploration and mining in the province? Twenty million dollars — from $250 million to $20 million.

What does it take? It takes about ten years to do the prospecting and the work up to be able to actually bring a mine on once the mineral deposit is found and then developed and operating. It takes about ten years. Thrashed that. Guess what. Every one of those mining jobs is good, solid, well-paying union jobs that were absolutely thrashed and cut in half. What happened to our mining industry? Some of the best miners in the world worked in the province, and now they come home every couple of months because they're off in other countries in the world doing that work.

We need to bring that industry home. We need to see, once again, that those strong revenue producers are looked after and are working in a way that can foster economic activity throughout all of British Columbia. We need to see that mining industry and that forestry industry be the players that they were and they can be and they will be.

There are other changes that are extremely important and that this government has taken a lead on. I can't say enough about the words that were written and spoken in the throne speech relative to first nations and the inclusion — the attempt to include — and also the issue of reconciliation that's so very, very important. I think it would be important, as we talk about that and then talk about the budget, to just read it again so that people fully understand what was said.

I would like to quote the throne speech, if I may, in respect to this issue. It was under the section that talked about opening up recognition and reconciliation with first nations. If I can quote the throne speech, it says:

This government has made it clear that as we build this province, as we go about attempting to reinstil confidence in the forestry sector, in the mining industry, as we go about bringing economic and social improvements throughout the heartland of the province, incumbent upon us all as legislators here and as the government itself is to bring these people in to be part of the fabric of British Columbia.

Two-thirds of B.C.'s native Indian students did not complete high school. Those are statistics from 1999 to 2000 — two-thirds. It's incredible. If that were the case in the non-native community, we would be having a royal commission, a huge inquiry in one form or another of what was wrong. Native Indians live seven

years less on average than the non-native community. They are four times more likely to commit suicide than other British Columbians — a statistic that is absolutely incredible. It's unconscionable to think about.

The standard of living is 20 percent below the provincial average, so there are huge undertakings for us as a government. As we work through many of the things relative to the economic initiatives of the budget, so, too, must we work through in regard to the social aspects and, in this particular instance specifically, the lives of our native Indian brothers and sisters who live for many of us as neighbours in our communities.

In fact, in my home in Cowichan I have probably one of the largest groups of native Indians. The Cowichan Indian band is one of the largest Indian bands in the province of British Columbia. You could almost claim that there was a ten-foot wall that ran down the main street in our community. It's not there, but if you look at the interaction or lack of, it certainly is. We've got a long way to go, and it isn't all about treaties and land claims. It's about seeing people for who they are. It's about including those people within your lives.

I've had the very good opportunity and good fortune to be able to have a mayors committee. Our four mayors, the chairman of the regional district and also our MP, along with the chiefs of the Indian bands in our area, gathered together for just a chinwag — virtually, a discussion around the fireplace about what life is generally and who we are individually as people. It was moving that particular night to listen to some of the chiefs speak about their own personal situations — several of them had been taken to residential schools — and what that was like and what it meant to them in respect to their own family life. One of the Indian chiefs mentioned how his family used to hide him so he wouldn't be taken away.

This is not good enough today. What we are faced with in regard to the social fabric of the native Indians in the province of British Columbia is nothing short of a national disgrace. I'm pleased to be part of a government and caucus that have taken it upon themselves to move past just that which we talk about in land treaties, land negotiations, and to move ahead in economic measures that can help people, specifically the native Indian community. We're finding ways for aboriginal involvement in oil and gas, tourism, forestry, and the fish and agriculture industry. Also, with the good news of the vote on Saturday, there will be a way for them to be specifically involved in the Olympic bid.

We're finding initiatives in which we can have comanagement with our Indian brothers and sisters in the management of parks and recreational services. We can find a way that can greatly increase their employment within our economy. To the heart, true initiatives in assisting in the protection of aboriginal children and their families are something I have seen firsthand from the standpoint of young children that have been in need of family support within the native community.

My daughter has two native Indian foster children. You can tell so much the need for love and affection and the work we need to do as a society in being able to make sure that they have the strength within their own community, the broader community, and that they are well looked after.

There's enhanced funding in this budget for post-secondary programs, early childhood development, child care services and programs to promote aboriginal languages, which is incredibly important as we build and try and work together in a spirit of reconciliation. You can't move to land treaties and negotiations when you're not on the same page. It's even more difficult when you're not even on the same chapter. But it's doggone near impossible when you're not even in the same book. We in society in British Columbia have got to understand that much of this is more than the issue of land claims. It's a recognition of the fact that they, too, are people who want to be part of the social and economic development of this great province.

It's been a pleasure for me to be able to speak today in respect of the budget. I think there's tremendous opportunity here for all peoples. With the work that's been done by the government in setting this province once again on track, we will see those benefits starting to come down. We're already seeing those benefits.

When one looks at the confidence that's there in home construction, home renovation and car sales, I think those are extremely important indicators. This isn't some foreign investment, if you like, which we would love to see coming into the province. This isn't some huge corporation, perhaps B.C.-grown, that's reinvesting in the province. These are men and women, citizens of British Columbia, who have enough confidence in the future of this great province that they're prepared to go about and start building or rebuilding their houses. You don't go add on the carport, rejuvenate the kitchen or build a new bedroom if you're not feeling that there's confidence there.

You can see the housing industry starting to take off. In my particular community — if you look at it as a percentage, a small percentage — it's a huge increase that's taking place. Is it what it was back in the late eighties with housing construction? No, it isn't, but are we going in the right direction? We certainly are going in the right direction, and all I can say is that for the next few years British Columbia is indeed going to once again be a powerhouse to the national economy of Canada.

V. Roddick: The reason that we in the British Columbia government caucus are all speaking so positively and enthusiastically is this: we believe British Columbians are better off and have a brighter future than before we were elected. Cuts to taxes, less red tape, fewer regulations and better fiscal management of taxpayers' money are paying off. That is why we are determined to keep on track to a balanced budget in '04-05. That is why we have made sure B.C.'s income taxes are the lowest in Canada. As a result, there is

more disposable money in everyone's pockets, and our government has been able to free up almost $400 million due to lower debt service costs.

We are doing what every householder in the province has to do, and it is paying off. Our plan is on track — actually, ahead of schedule. We laid out our plans in the New Era document. We were elected on the New Era document. Don't forget that. Re-read it. Unlike the neglect and mismanagement under the socialist government of the NDP, we are sticking to our plans, and they are paying off — lowest personal income tax rate in Canada on the first $60,000 of income, competitive business taxes, new investment flowing into the province and 78,000 new jobs. As a result of good planning and careful management, we have increased health care funding by $1.1 billion, protected education and actually increased per-student funding despite falling enrolment.

We are encouraging flexibility in our education and in our school boards. A really good example is Delta South. They are going out to attract families not just to live and work in Delta but to be educated in Delta. Our schools are number one.

We brought in generally accepted accounting principles to run our business of government. This is a first. We are leading the nation, and it was Delta South's Fred Gingell who pushed for this initiative.

A three-year rolling service plan to all ministries and health authorities — this has never been done before. Everyone's had their budget come halfway through the year, and they've never known where they're at. Now a real plan can be put in place.

We have eliminated needless — needless — regulations, agencies, boards and commissions, fees and licences.

We are on track not only to balance the budget but to deliver surpluses in '04-05 and '05-06. People in our province can actually look enthusiastically to the future.

We are providing support for our forest industry and moving to a new era of reconciliation and revenue-sharing with first nations.

This budget is a budget for all British Columbians to build upon. We've been through tough, tough times. We now have a road map and a budget to get us back into the land of the living, without mortgaging our children's future, without mortgaging their souls.

Being a have-not province has drastically reduced our ability to deliver services that people want and need. Our Delta Hospital is a perfect example. We need to lower our debt and pay less interest. The less interest, the more choices we have about how we use people's hard-earned tax dollars.

Health care, of course, is our most essential public service — 41 percent of our total budget. We used courage to make big structural changes, but we need to listen to the concerns of the people and their needs and desires and work with them to work within the system. Again, Delta South has been exemplary, bringing forth ideas and solutions that have actually enhanced the existing system.

We must remain focused on patients. Our new Fair Pharmacare initiative today is an excellent example. We listened. We delivered a program that focuses financial assistance on B.C. families who need it most based on net income.

The Select Standing Committee on Health toured the province, listening to the people of British Columbia — Patients First: Renewal and Reform of British Columbia's Health Care System and Patients First 2002: The Path to Reform — and put forward dozens of their recommendations, many of which have already been implemented.

We are expanding nurses' and doctors' seats at universities throughout the province to help alleviate our academic shortages. We simply cannot continue to depend on other countries for our health care professionals. We are investing in the Michael Smith Foundation at UBC.

We are working with all provincial Premiers and health ministers, and as a result of the first ministers' accord on health, we will receive $1.3 billion in new federal funding over the next three years. However, just to put this into perspective, that $1.3 billion over three years funds just 92 hours of our health care system per year. Our health care system uses up all provincial personal income taxes, $4.7 billion; all sales tax, $4 billion; all MSP premiums, 1.4 billion; and it's still not enough.

From health to the need for a top-notch education system, which is paramount. There is new investment in K-to-12 and advanced education — an extra $51 for every student in our schools — and more resources for students. Even as enrolments decline, our allotment per student is going up.

As we save by running a tight ship, we can funnel some of those savings into primary and advanced education, and we are. Every school district, including Delta South, is benefiting because of good, sound management. Now tens of millions of dollars stay in this province, not paid out to bankers in New York or London, etc. These huge numbers are difficult for people to deal with, but try and compare it to credit card interest or open-ended mortgage payments, and it will be easier to begin to try and calculate the type of savings that we can achieve overall.

Advanced education in all sectors is imperative. We are facing huge skilled labour shortages, and that is why we have targeted time, effort and millions of dollars in this area.

Our families and communities are our foundation. Revitalizing the economy, balancing the budget, etc., — all this seemingly dry, boring stuff — actually give us the cash to invest in our human capital: $10 million for the early childhood partnership fund, $11 million a year additional funding for intervention for school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder, $110 million to employment programs, up to $400 a month earnings on top of assistance for people with disabili-

ties. In all of these initiatives, our own — Delta South's — Doug Woollard is front and centre.

Our standard of living has declined over the past ten years. We have become a have-not province, but that is going to change. Our energy policy, our forestry policy, our treaty negotiations, reopening the fact that we had a mining industry in this province at one time, investment….

Just one example in our agricultural resource. In the Fraser Valley, at Rogers Foods there's a $20 million investment in a new flour mill. That's just a small beginning. Our small business owners overwhelmingly said that they will increase or, at the very least, maintain full-time employment in 2003. This is simply terrific.

Connecting all of this is a real plan — a modern, effective transportation system key to revitalizing our economy. That's why our government has launched a three-year transportation plan that will be ongoing. The government will commit $650 million and expects to leverage another $1.7 billion from the federal government and other partners. This real plan is desperately needed to generate new investment and job creation. We will pay as we go and not endanger our children and grandchildren.

It's not just the heartlands suffering. Delta South is living and breathing a failing — no, failed — transportation infrastructure every single day.

Another issue is our forests, still our number one industry. But it won't be for long, if we don't act now. We are working along with Canada and the U.S. to resolve the softwood lumber dispute, but we cannot put the industry and lives and futures of thousands of British Columbians on hold. We are committing money, land, reforms and management restructuring because we are determined to build a leading-edge forest industry for all British Columbians. To do this, we are committed to maintain a competitive tax environment to help invigorate our economy. We are making tax changes to encourage natural gas exploration, mining, film — Hollywood North — and small business venture capital.

Young people are genuinely enthusiastic now. The 2010 Olympics will encourage all sorts of small and value-added businesses. They are ready to roll. Digital animation — Canada is really very, very well known in this field. Let's let British Columbia make us even better: book publishing, labour-sponsored venture capital, bunker fuel for cruise ships — $29 million annual total.

In the lower mainland, Vancouver convention centre expansion. We have lost over 144 conventions over the past couple of years. That is a great deal of money for our province. The investment in this new centre or project will add as much as $5 billion to our GDP over time and will create 6,000 person-years employment. This cash does not just stay in Vancouver. It has legs — beautiful, cash-generating legs. It will be one of our building blocks to better and more cash resources that will allow us the flexibility to pay for the services we all need and desire.

We plan and budget to spend dollars where they will do the most good: to help people, families, and to pave the way for the economic growth that pays the way for everything government delivers.

While I look forward to my time speaking later on to the throne speech, it has been an honour this afternoon to speak on behalf of the 2003-04 budget of the province of British Columbia — a path to excellence.

Hon. L. Reid: I'm pleased to rise for this debate and to follow my hon. colleague from Delta South. It is about what the future holds.

Given that this is my first opportunity, I wanted to express my sadness over the passing of a very fine soul in the riding of Richmond East just last month — heartbreaking for the riding, because this was an individual who truly knew the value of a dollar. This budget would have spoken to this individual. Paul Dhillon, a cranberry farmer in Richmond, an RCMP officer for more than 24 years, was someone who gave greatness to the riding when it came to building partnerships, building connections, building a spirit of what it was to be an agricultural community in the urban area of our province, if you will.

Many of you will know East Richmond — ten minutes from the city of Vancouver and 81 square miles of active cranberry production. Fifteen million pounds of cranberries came off Mr. Dhillon's lands last year — an enormous contribution to the economy of east Richmond and also to the sense of connectedness that the community has to being an island and, truly, an agricultural community.

In terms of his family, my heartfelt condolences. He truly made an enormous contribution to the economy of British Columbia and understood that hard work, in fact, resulted in more and greater opportunity.

The budget for today. People will ask: why the necessity to balance the budget? For the simple reason that balancing a budget provides choices. Without dollars at your disposal, you have fewer choices as a British Columbian. That's the same if you're operating a small business, having issues with family money management or operating a province the size of British Columbia.

Resources in your pocket make some of life's decisions much easier — no question. The necessity to balance the budget, frankly, is for those who will come after us. It is about the babies of this province. I know my colleagues have heard me speak many times on the necessity of doing what is right for the babies of this province. What is right is crafting opportunity that will matter to them. Many of you will know there are 271,000 children in our province today under the age of six. There are 40,000 babies born each year in British Columbia — 40,000. [Applause.] We'll clap for babies. Thank you, hon. colleague.

The opportunities that we wish for them are not different from the opportunities we wish for our own

children. We very much want opportunity, access and support to be in place. The government side of this House believes very strongly in a family's capacity to parent their own children. We want to increase opportunities for durable parenting practice. We want to ensure that those opportunities are before every single family in British Columbia.

The Premier's commitment is to strengthen families in the province. That is the only way we will reach stronger community, stronger resilience in our province — if, indeed, we choose to resource very effectively young children and their families.

That research is abundantly clear. My colleagues have often heard Dr. Clyde Hertzman, through the human early learning partnership at the University of British Columbia, talk about how important it is to understand the necessity for solid early learning. There are individuals in society today who don't believe — marvel at this — that a scrap of learning happens before a child crosses the threshold into their kindergarten classroom. The reality is that learning begins at conception.

We have opportunities to provide really positive learning experiences for very young children. The early childhood development branch of the Ministry of Children and Family Development is doing some amazing work when it comes to individuals understanding that there is opportunity and, frankly, that there is responsibility to do what is best for young learners.

The former chancellor of the University of Victoria had a glorious analogy when she talked about why to fund very young learners. Her analogy was all about how the calibre of the student you receive at university entrance is determined by that child's very young learning experiences — a glorious analogy when it comes to how we look at funding education and how we look at funding advanced education in British Columbia.

We need to come to grips with how we fund the continuum of a person's learning, whether they're a newborn or a senior. There is learning that, in fact, makes societies healthier, more productive places to be, and we need to engage in that type of learning.

In terms of the initiatives that I wanted to canvass with you today, many are in the area of early childhood development. In many of your communities across British Columbia you will know we have a Building Blocks program. Building Blocks is all about building relationships with parents. It's a home-visiting program that offers supports to families, whether those families are in the heartlands of British Columbia or in downtown Vancouver. There are people who come to your home and offer you support as a brand-new mom — particularly important if you have a very vulnerable learner; if you have a child who's at risk in your home.

It's very, very important that we continue to build connections with individuals and support young parents, whether they be young moms or young dads. Parenting is always a challenge. How we go forward and offer those supports to young people is vitally important. The Building Block program — a huge expansion this year across the province of British Columbia. I'm delighted that the budget allowed for those dollars to be put into that level of programming, because it will matter. It will make a difference in the life of a child and its mom and dad in the coming years.

Many of you will know that we have Make Children First learning initiatives across the province. We had three initiatives: the Boston Bar–Hope corridor, Port Alberni and Prince George. We are in the midst of expanding that program across British Columbia. We had the Kamloops announcement probably ten days back. We had the Whistler-Pemberton corridor a few days before that. We have a number of announcements coming up in the next number of weeks because there will be upwards of 11, and that number grows as we continue this dialogue, growing the number of learning sites.

If you think of learning sites as centres of excellence, networks of excellence across British Columbia, what they say to communities is that these kinds of supports are important for children and vitally important for young people. Rather than impose a particular set of programs from Victoria, we suggest to those communities that they indeed know what works best.

Again, what works best in the heartlands? What works best in the cities and the villages of British Columbia? They indeed know what works best, and they will make the determinations that reflect the needs and desires of their individual communities.

That speaks to me. That is about the message of this government, which is about capacity-building, which is about resiliency. Those are the important things for a community. All of us would wish greater independence when it comes to how best to deliver a program. The fact that we are moving to a regional governance model, that we are asking communities — who we believe know best — to participate wholly and fully in that level of decision-making frankly warms my heart.

Another program that continues to excel in British Columbia is the infant development program. Again, this budget favoured that program. This administration, this government, favoured that program over the last year. We did increase the level of funding to that program so that, hopefully, we could have fewer and fewer children each year on the wait-lists for infant development programs. Our challenge was to see if we could drive that wait-list to zero, because it would not be appropriate to suggest that children who require services would be waiting while they were very, very young. We, indeed, have driven some of those decisions to the advantage of some of the youngest learners in our province, and I'm absolutely delighted by that.

We talk again about why the necessity to balance the budget. It allows for greater opportunity for those that we should wish to have that level of opportunity.

Family resource programs in the province also received additional funding in this past year. It's vitally important that we support families, that we have a sense of neighbourhood, that we have a sense of community across British Columbia, that people will look out for their neighbour. We want those interactions to be heralded, to have prominence for people to believe

in them across British Columbia. It's important to look out for your neighbour. It's important to look out for members of your family. Those are what make a community, or not.

Again, this administration, this budget, is all about capacity-building. It's about strengthening resolve in families so that, indeed, their levels of resiliency improve. It's vitally important that we continue on that.

This is not about government doing for people; this about government sharing the responsibility with individual British Columbians. I strongly contend that is the direction that makes the most sense.

Many of you will know that I began my career as a teacher. My job was to teach children how to be more independent, to be more effective learners, to be more productive, to explore their goals, their aspirations and their dreams. All of those things were vitally important when I was a teacher. Those things continue to be vitally important for British Columbia residents and vitally important for individuals who live in our individual constituencies, who continue to do their very best across British Columbia.

With my hon. colleague the Minister of Health Planning, the Baby's Best Chance series continues to offer great insight for pregnant and parenting parents, moms, new moms. As a great resource, the Ministry of Health Planning continues to supply that level of support to families because it's information that's vital. Young moms and dads have a myriad of questions about how to be a better parent, how to handle an array of situations that have not yet come before them. That document and the documents that will follow — how to assist toddlers, how to prepare children for school — are vitally important. In fact, that is the document — and my hon. colleague knows this — that is heralded across the country. Many provinces purchase Baby's Best Chance from British Columbia, because it's a wondrous resource tool.

All of those things are enhanced and, indeed, permitted because of a strong fiscal management tool that's in place in British Columbia. If it were not, we would not be able to provide the things that matter to many, many families across this province.

Another area that you've heard this government talk on often has been the area of aboriginal early childhood development — what we're doing as a society to look out for aboriginal children in British Columbia and how we're strengthening aboriginal communities to care for their children. It hasn't been a workable exercise. It hasn't been fair. It hasn't been decent to remove aboriginal children at the rate that they were being removed from their homes in British Columbia over the years. To assist families to have those children with them, learning from them, maintaining their cultural integrity, maintaining their safety and security, maintaining their health and well-being has to be the goal of any government intervention, and government interventions only work if they're partnered with the community. If individuals come together to say that this would matter on Haida Gwaii, this would matter in Smithers, British Columbia. Frankly, this would matter in Richmond, British Columbia. It has to be a community partnership if indeed we expect to see any change in how we interact with aboriginal communities in British Columbia. I'm happy to tell you that this budget has again allowed for 37 aboriginal early childhood development initiatives to come on line, and that number will continue to grow, because it's vitally important. The level of response we receive from communities, the level of interest we receive — all of those things are good messages for early childhood development in British Columbia.

I referenced Dr. Clyde Hertzman earlier. Dr. Clyde Hertzman's work is about the early development indicator, how we indeed assess the learning of your average five-year-old in British Columbia and how, indeed, we know what gaps are in place when those little souls cross the threshold into their first kindergarten classroom. The Premier's premise, when this role was created, was all about making decisions from the best possible science. We will be the only province in Canada, in the space of a very few short months, that will have a snapshot of the entire province. Every single five-year-old will contribute to our understanding of what a provincial snapshot of early readiness looks like for children in British Columbia — an enormous undertaking. I'm incredibly proud of the work of Dr. Hertzman, and I'm incredibly proud of this government for taking on that initiative as one they would fund, support and mentor as we move through the process — vitally important.

It makes great sense that initiatives from government are actually partnered with university academics so that indeed we can drive the best possible public policy. To me that's what this entire process is about. Whether it's the budget, the throne speech or where we go next, it's about better and better public policy so that indeed British Columbians can benefit from the work that's going on in our province at our universities, and we have a glorious collection of very fine researchers at each university in our province who indeed are making enormous contributions to their fields of study.

The individuals at the University of British Columbia, at UNBC and at UVic; those who are looking at the area of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder — a huge undertaking not just for British Columbia but for Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the three territories of our country — just completed meetings yesterday that were all about how we take to the table, take to the community, more effective strategies around dealing with young people, adolescents, babies, young moms, young dads around the issue of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. It's vitally important that we get a handle on that. This is about quality of life. This is about those little souls having choices and opportunities as they move forward. This is about reducing the incidence of babies born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

We have much to be proud of in British Columbia. The program that operates the Healthier Babies–Brighter Futures program at Burns Lake is absolutely remarkable. They have individuals today who have had babies born with FAS. I can tell you that 94 percent

of those women reduced or eliminated their alcohol or drug consumption. Their second babies were born fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder-free. They were healthy infants when they were born. That's an enormous contribution to the economy of this province but, more than that, an enormous contribution to the life and livelihood of those young people. They will have choices that they did not have otherwise, and that is something that indeed the entire government and the province can be intensely proud of, because it's vitally important that we take those issues forward.

Balancing a budget will allow us to take those decisions. Otherwise, we will continue to go down the road where we simply don't put the needs and interests of our youngest learners first. You need resources. You need dollars in the bank. You don't need to pay out incredible sums of money each day to interest–debt-servicing costs in the province. I would rather pay those dollars to families, to children, to support services and to communities, to make better and better decisions for the youngsters in this province. Indeed, there's work to be done. We have much that we would like to do. I want very much to spend some time today on where we go next and why it is important.

The community of Richmond. We've had some tragic events unfold around racism, if you will, around gang violence, around young Indo-Canadian individuals taking their lives, taking the lives of their friends. We had a meeting last Sunday where the community came together to see how they could address those issues. Those issues, we hope, can be resolved, and we believe we'll have greater opportunity to resolve some of those issues when we can craft a healthier learning and living environment for all British Columbians.

I want this province to be considered a learning province — Vancouver and Richmond, Kitimat and Terrace, all the cities and towns of this province, to be considered learning cities, learning towns. I want us to make that commitment as a government — that, indeed, we will do what we can to support young learners, adolescents, adults, families and parents, because it's incredibly important that we take good decisions when it comes to how we support families.

I had the pleasure just at the end of January to meet with individuals around family literacy. In terms of sharing partnership, sharing economic resource, the Vancouver Canucks hockey club has done some amazing things when it comes to supporting the family literacy project at Britannia Community Secondary school. They are putting $150,000 annually on the table to support very young learners in that community. So, can this government form useful partnerships? Can this government do some things that matter for families? Absolutely.

Many of you will know that January 27 of this year was Family Literacy Day in British Columbia. It's really, really important that we honour that and that we ensure that those opportunities are available. It's those opportunities that allow individuals to participate much more effectively in the economy. The economy of this province will thrive, no question about that. There is hope and opportunity before us. It's vitally important that we allow every single British Columbian access to those opportunities.

Like any good partnership, there are many, many players. The Vancouver Canuck education centre, the Family Education Centre, has the school board on side, has the library on side, has Simon Fraser University on side, has the home instruction program for preschool youngsters on side. University of British Columbia, the B.C. Council for Families, the B.C. Association of Family Resource programs, the Vancouver Sun's raise-a-reader program, Frontier College — all groups or individuals who have said: "Building community capacity is important. Teaching people to read is important. Honouring family literacy is important." Those things are wondrous — that they're happening across British Columbia in communities small and large. It's vitally important that those opportunities continue to exist for each and every British Columbian.

Some of you will know about Spinoza Bear — again, an opportunity in the budget for us to look out for very young learners who have had trauma in their lives, who've had serious accidents or serious illness. This is a bear; it's actually a teddy bear that speaks to children who have been in very tragic circumstances or are suffering from very serious illness. This bear, actually, is geared towards the particular illness, so if the little soul happens to have asthma, it helps the little soul with its breathing exercises. It's an amazing contribution, and it's the TB Vets in British Columbia who fund that project — the Spinoza foundation which comes together to look out for very young souls.

This isn't about government doing all the things it's always done. This is about government recognizing, with this budget, that community partnerships are important, that all kinds of individuals come to the table because they want to look out for each other and community. They want to provide assistance. It's incredibly important that we continue to do that, because those are the experiences in the life of a child that matter. Those are the things that will make a difference.

I think we have opportunity in British Columbia like never before. I think we have great opportunity to do some things that we haven't, frankly, considered seriously in the past because the previous government of the day, I believe, made some atrocious choices about where they would put their dollars. They didn't put their dollars into the life and livelihood of the citizens of this province, and that indeed is what will make, or not, an incredibly strong community.

We have opportunity before us; we have hope before us; we have the Olympic bid before us. All of those things are about building memories, building a province that's strong and vibrant and one that spends its dollars incredibly well. I am pleased to be part of that process, and, hon. Speaker, I thank you.

Hon. S. Hawkins: I'm very happy to take my place in this budget debate and talk about the positive impact this budget is having on our province and in my

constituency. I also want to talk a little bit about health care, because I know that's an issue that's a priority to many of my constituents and to people across the province not only in the lower mainland and in Victoria but across the heartlands of this great province.

As this is my first opportunity to rise in the House, I also want to take this opportunity to thank my constituents for the privilege and the honour of representing them. I think it's very important to say thank you. It's not every day that an ordinary citizen gets to stand in the House and represent the great riding of Kelowna-Mission, so I do want to do that.

I think it's also very important to acknowledge the hard work of both my constituency assistants, Del and Meghan, who work so very hard on behalf of our constituents. I think they are really a fine example of public service. I should say that Del has been with me since I got elected — actually, before I got elected — because she used to work with me in the law firm I was at in Kelowna. I can tell you, she continues to hold her position as a constituency assistant with the highest degree of professionalism and caring. Megan joined me about five years ago and is one of the most dedicated and committed people I've known. I think the constituency and I are very proud of the public service both of these women do on behalf of our constituents. They certainly deserve a lot of accolades for the front-line service they deliver every single day. I can tell you, I am very appreciative of that.

As well, I should say, you can't do this job without friends, family and supporters. I want to say thank you to all of them as well. I know I'm away a lot, and they certainly carry the ball for me and do some of the things I can't do when I'm home. I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all those people. They know who they are.

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk a bit about my constituency, Kelowna-Mission. Knowing you're also from the Okanagan, I think you'll appreciate just what a wonderful place we live in there. It's home to 100,000 people. That's about 50,000 more than when I moved there 12 years ago, and I can tell you, it's one of the most beautiful places in the world. It's well known for hot summers and mild winters. We're having a particularly nice one this year. I appreciate it even more after speaking to my sister in Regina last night. It was minus 47 there. As a transplanted person from Saskatchewan, I can tell you, I sure appreciate living in British Columbia.

You should know that Kelowna is the largest city in the Okanagan, and it's one of the fastest-growing in Canada. We are blessed with rolling hills, orchards, vineyards and lakes, and we have attracted professionals and families from across the country and around the world. In the last 20 years the area has seen growth in a very diversified economy and a growing economy in tourism and high-tech. We're branded as the silicon vineyard. That is what we are promoting ourselves as and getting to be known as. We've seen growth in manufacturing and certainly business enterprises. The growth has gone really well with the mainstay sectors of agriculture and forestry in our valley.

Of course, I guess I can't mention the Okanagan without bragging about the wine industry. We're really, really proud of the Okanagan's growth and success in developing world-class wines. The local wine industry has quadrupled over the last 20 years, and there are 80 wineries that now produce 22 million litres of wine every year. That's a lot of product. The Wine Institute is hosting a reception for us tonight, and I'm sure we'll all be receiving an invitation to two of what I would call the signature festivals in the Okanagan. That's the spring and fall wine festivals. We see thousands of visitors during these events, and they really do make us proud.

I should say, in addition to the wine industry tourism growth, we're also seeing growth in agritourism. I can tell you, it's very encouraging to see how enterprising the people in my community can be. They've added that element of imagination to an already vibrant and thriving community.

As well as thriving agriculture, forestry and manufacturing and everything else, we're really blessed to have some really great services in the riding. We have a wonderful regional hospital. We have a world-class regional cancer centre. We have Okanagan University College, which offers both college and university programs to nearly 40,000 students. It is growing thanks to the investment that this government is making, that the Minister of Advanced Education is making, to add high-tech and business courses to colleges and universities across the province. We also, I should say — and again it's bragging rights — not only have the quality of life and the great location, but we were also recognized…. We have the honour of being one of the most beautiful places in Canada. Kelowna won the 1998 Communities in Bloom Competition, and we hosted the world conference last year. So how do you improve on that? And as the Premier says….

Hon. S. Hawkins: No, we don't move to Richmond. We stay in Kelowna and build a beautiful community.

As the Premier says, we improve on that by staying the course, and that's exactly what we're doing. Budget 2003 shows the government's three-year plan is working. We're on track, and in fact, we're ahead of schedule. We introduced a three-year plan back in February last year, and it had three goals. They were to restore sound fiscal management, to revitalize the economy, and to put patients and students and people in need first. And you know what? It is working. We in British Columbia now have the lowest personal income taxes for the bottom two tax brackets. Our business rates are among the lowest in North America. Confidence is building. You can feel it when you go around the province. Investment is beginning to flow, and British Columbia is starting to reap the benefits.

I can see it in my constituency, and that's good news for my constituents. Last year our economy grew by almost three times the rate expected by independent forecasters. I know that's happening in my riding. Just

look at the housing starts. There were 47 percent more housing starts this year over last. The province created almost 78,000 new jobs during 2002. I can tell you one thing that makes my constituents very happy is that government spending is under control. For the last ten years, one of the most frustrating things I heard when I travelled around my riding, when I travelled around different communities across the heartlands in the province and the urban areas, was that the government spending was out of control. I mean, who can forget the fast ferries fiasco?

I think one of the things they really appreciate is that we do have a plan, and we're holding to that plan. In fact, for the first time in a long time, every single ministry is on or under budget. I think the Minister of Finance and the Premier said they had to go back to the 1950s, and they didn't have very much information before that, but we are the first government to deliver our ministry budgets on budget or under budget.

The 2002-03 deficit is forecast to be $600 million lower than budget. The debt is forecast to be $600 million lower than budget. The debt for 2003 — here is really good news — is forecast to be $3.5 billion lower than planned. I think that shows very good fiscal responsibility, and I think all British Columbians can be proud of the role they played in taking the tough choices, tightening their belts and making sure we have a brighter future not only for us but for our kids as well.

The government is on track not only to balance the budget but to deliver a small surplus in 2004-05, and we're going to do that. We're going to improve services to patients, students and people in need as we go along. Over the next three years, our government is going to increase the Ministry of Education budget by $143 million. We did get an infusion of funds from the federal government for health, so over the next three years we're going to direct $1.3 billion that we expect in federal funding to meet British Columbians' health care needs.

We're going to invest $650 million in transportation infrastructure to open up B.C. to new investment, to jobs, to growth and to prosperity. I think that is good news for my constituents. The budget really outlines a plan to help us live within our means and get us on our way to that bright future that we're all looking forward to and we're already experiencing right now.

I can tell you, after the budget was introduced, I did have the opportunity to meet with many of my constituents. They have the same message for us — that they want this government to stay on course. They like the fact that the Premier is showing strong leadership and is a voice of fiscal responsibility. My constituents understand that we shouldn't burden our children with debt into the future, and they are very, very appreciative of the fact that for some of the projects we announce, we are going to pay as we go and not pay as we owe.

The throne speech announced a new B.C. heartlands economic strategy, and the Premier committed to focusing government resources on revitalizing the economy of the rural and northern communities. The Premier and this government understand, and we appreciate, that the province's economic strength and success come from the heartlands. Our government is committed to working with local governments, with businesses and with first nations to develop strategies that will open up the heartlands of our province to make sure that industries like forestry and agriculture and tourism and energy and fishing continue to provide jobs and continue a future for people in communities across the heartlands of our province.

There's very exciting news in our heartlands strategy. A key part of that strategy commits $650 million to a new three-year transportation plan, and we'll be making that investment without increasing the overall public debt. I think that is great news. The money will come from a 3½-cent-per-litre fuel tax increase that takes effect on March 1. We expect to leverage about another $1.7 billion in transportation investments from the federal government and other partners in the year ahead.

People might complain about the 3½-cent tax increase, but I can tell you, people appreciate the fact that we're actually going to spend that money, that we're going to spend it on the projects we're going to dedicate it to and that there's going to be no debt legacy for our kids. When you explain that, they get it and they appreciate it. I think they get the fact that this is a significant investment not only now but into the future. It means that new transportation infrastructure is there for us to use to move our goods and services, to make sure that it provides new jobs, new opportunities and certainly fuels economic growth.

It also means enhanced safety. I'll tell you, in the last ten years or so, or the last seven that I've been around, you travel to different communities, and one of the highest priorities is transportation. They'll tell you how many projects or issues in their riding are related to transportation. For the 12 years I've lived in Kelowna, I've talked about the bridge: "We need a new bridge; we need a new bridge." We raised it year after year after year in this House. You know, we talked about the improvements to Highway 97. We certainly have heard about the improvements needed to the Kicking Horse Canyon and the Sea-to-Sky Highway. Well, guess what. We have to pay for them somehow. We have a plan now. We've got a source of revenue, and we are going to start making those improvements because we believe that our citizens deserve safe highways.

We've dedicated $225 million to northern and heartland roads in this budget, and I think people can be proud of the fact that this work is actually going to start. Budget 2003 also commits $146 million for highway rehabilitation; $132 million for major highway corridors; $93 million for border crossing infrastructure; $30 million for ports and airports — and just imagine how that's going to open up the heartlands; $24 million for other transportation projects — as I mentioned, a new bridge across Okanagan Lake in Kelowna. I think that's good news for my constituents, and I can tell you we are really looking forward to when that job starts.

I think this economic strategy for the heartlands is going to open up new opportunities for people across

the province. It's going to be great for creating jobs and growth, and it's certainly going to improve our quality of life.

We have other elements in the heartlands economic strategy that the Premier announced. One of the key commitments is establishing a B.C. resort task force to promote the development of resort communities across British Columbia. I think that is so important for areas like ours, when we live in the Okanagan. We have beautiful ski resorts there — Apex, Big White, Silver Star — and I think we need to find ways to help them maximize the benefits as we move towards hosting the 2010 Olympics. I think the task force will play a key part in helping achieve the goal of doubling the size of B.C.'s tourism industry by 2010, if we can just give them the tools they need to maximize their resources.

I am reminded of the major investment that the family that owns Big White is making at Big White Ski Resort. There is a ton of enthusiasm. There is a lot of optimism in hosting the Olympics. People are very excited. I was very pleased at the result of the plebiscite in Vancouver this weekend. I can tell you, that was good news for my community. They started over a month ago to really organize a community committee to start working at how we can take advantage of hosting the world when it comes to our doorstep in 2010.

As someone who lived in Calgary five years prior to the Calgary Winter Olympics and heard all of this kind of concern and negativity, it quickly dispels as we start moving closer to the games. The experience of hosting the world for two weeks during the Calgary Winter Olympics was an experience second to none. It was like a miracle had descended on our city, and for two weeks we were the darling of the world. I don't think you can buy advertising like that.

The legacy that was left in Calgary was remarkable for our kids. Just because we are going to be hosting the Olympics here doesn't mean that other kids from the rest of the country won't be able to benefit. In Calgary now we are hosting children and athletes from around the country as well as around the world, and I can tell you, the legacy isn't only in infrastructure and sports facilities. It's also in high-tech; it's also in brain power.

I was working as a nurse at the Foothills during the Calgary Olympics. The Foothills hospital was the official Olympic hospital. We got a world-class drug lab as one of the legacies of the Winter Olympics that year, 1988, and we also got world-class professionals that came to work there.

There is all kinds of hope and optimism and certainly good news that comes after one hosts the Olympics. I'm really looking forward to that, and I think the B.C. resort task force is looking to work really hard with communities to help them also reap some benefits as we move towards the Olympics.

We are also working to establish an offshore oil and gas industry that's environmentally sound and to provide jobs for coastal communities by 2010 as part of the heartlands economic strategy.

Certainly, work that's long overdue is finally starting under the leadership of the Forests minister. We're going to be introducing legislation to establish a working forest land base and reforms to improve the competitiveness of our B.C. forest industry. We want to make more timber available for innovative local operators, and I think that is good news for people who live in the heartlands.

There are also changes to the Small Business Venture Capital Act to increase access to seed capital, to eliminate red tape and to provide funding opportunities for all regions of the province. I've been to a couple of events, and people have come up to me and said: "Thank you for that." They really see the possibilities and the opportunity in that.

Also, we're going to be bringing in amendments to the Coal Act, the Mineral Tenure Act, the Mines Act, and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act to streamline the administration and to stimulate investment. I think these are all exciting components of the heartlands economic strategy. People across the province, and certainly in my community, are looking forward to the changes we're going to make, and they're looking forward to cooperating and working with government as we move forward to bring about more economic growth in our heartlands across this province.

I'm going to turn now to health care, because I know health care is one of our most essential public services. Our Premier and this government are committed to putting patients first. We're committed to building an affordable, sustainable health care system that's here not only today and that patients count on not only today but into the future. I think one thing that distinguishes this government from the last is that we're committed to planning for the long term, over the next ten, 20 and 30 years, not just to try and find some quick answers and quick fixes. I think the last decade has demonstrated that band-aid solutions don't work, and we must find long-term solutions. As British Columbians and Canadians, I think we all realize and value the importance of a publicly funded health care system.

Our government believes the time has come to focus on best practices and patient-centred outcomes, not just the costs involved. We are not going to break the public purse when it comes to supporting public health care. We're going to work hard to target our health care dollars now in ways that will get the best results for patients across our province. We have a plan. Last year with the budget each ministry tabled service plans. Certainly, the Ministries of Health Services and Health Planning have tabled service plans for our public health care system. Our plan is based on four long-term goals: for accessible, high-quality health care; for patient-centred public health care; for improving health and wellness; and for a sustainable, affordable health care system.

When medicare was first started in 1965, only hospital services were covered. That's all that was covered.

Since then, a lot has been layered on. Our publicly funded health care system today now pays not only for hospital services but also for programs like Pharmacare, for ambulance, for telehealth, for prevention and wellness, and for home and community care. You can see that there's a lot more covered today than there was many, many years ago, when medicare first started.

I can tell you, there have been a lot of changes in the world over the last 40 years. As someone who has worked in the system for a dozen years or so, I can honestly say that somehow the health care system just stumbled along in the same old way, with very little regard to good management of health care resources, to efficiency, to planning and to coordination. Really, the health care system suffered growth in a totally uncoordinated, incremental, fragmented way with little accountability to how health dollars were invested for positive health outcomes.

The health budget, I think everyone knows, has grown steadily every single year since 1991. In fact, the health care costs in B.C. have been growing three times faster than the rate of our economy. Here's a number that should blow you away: our health care costs are $1.4 million an hour. I can't even comprehend that — $1.4 million an hour. Health spending is now the biggest ministry in the provincial budget. We take up 41 percent of the total budget. We added $1.1 billion to health care over the past year, and you know what? We keep hearing this misinformation about cuts, cuts, cuts to health. I can tell you, we added over a billion dollars. We have to be smarter in how we use those resources, because really, it can chew up so much of the budget if we don't focus it in ways that benefit patients and make sure that we have positive health outcomes for the very scarce health dollars that we are investing.

That $1.1 billion increase in the past year was mainly driven by wage increases. We were left with little choice in funding these wage increases, because we did inherit a shortage of doctors, nurses and pharmacists. We did recognize that people are our most valuable resource in health care. We simply couldn't afford to lose any more people, and we've made that investment in people. Our doctors and nurses are now the highest paid in the country, and because of that, we are able to recruit more.

We are not alone in the sustainability challenges. Certainly, every province is working to find ways to make sure we have the resources we need to make our health care system run. I think we're doing that in a very responsible way in this province. I think it's important for all of us to realize and recognize that, like every other service that government provides, health care is not free. In fact, it's paid for by all the taxpayers. There's no such thing as government dollars; they're taxpayer dollars.

I think people have been very clear to us that they want health care dollars focused on patients, and our Premier, this government, committed to doing that. If there's one message that's been loud and clear, it's this: if what's gone on in the past doesn't work for patients, then it doesn't work for taxpayers. As government, I think we have the obligation to spend our taxpayer dollars as responsibly as we can, and we're taking that obligation very seriously as we direct health care dollars to patients and to health services.

We face a lot of challenges. We have a very diverse, multicultural province with a growing and aging population. It's spread across a very challenging terrain. We're servicing an area in this province for health services that's bigger than England, France and Germany combined. You add on to that all the different mountain ranges that it takes to get services to people and add on the rising costs of technology and drugs, and you start getting an idea of how really challenging it is.

Well, I can tell you that none of these challenges are new. They've all been documented many, many times. I note that the Chair of our Health Committee, the member for Delta South, spoke before me. That committee had hearings and put out a report documenting the challenges we face and basically recommending to government that we had to change how we did things to make sure that our health care system was responding to the challenges and was being reformed to make sure it was sustainable.

Well, as a result of lack of planning and, I guess, inaction in the past decade, patients do face some challenges today, but I think patients and communities across the province are starting to recognize that we are making some significant, very positive changes to health care. People have been demanding answers and have certainly been asking if the health care dollars being invested are really resulting in positive outcomes. I can tell you, that is the question we've been asking as we've been going ahead with the changes we've made. We have created a plan to modernize our health care system in B.C. We want to make sure that it's a system that's well managed, well coordinated, well planned, and one that's accountable and sustainable into the future.

Let me emphasize that we are working on a long-term plan for health care. The system, as I said, has historically been patched up. There's been a lot of short-term fixes, but I think we have to think in terms of the long term, in terms of sustainable solutions. I know the challenges are tough, but they're not insurmountable.

I can tell you we made some changes right off the bat last year, for starters. We reduced the number of health authorities from 52 to six, and we did this because we wanted to make sure we had a more efficient and better coordinated governance model in British Columbia. By reducing the health authorities from 52 to six, we're finding that they're making greater efforts to share resources, because they know that if they work together, they can better meet patient needs.

For the first time ever last year, health authorities were given three-year block funding, and each health authority got a 7.4 percent lift in funding. For the first time ever in Canada, we set access standards to acute

and emergency care that health authorities must follow for providing care. We're the only jurisdiction in Canada to ensure that each health authority has a performance contract with specific outcomes that are being monitored, measured and reported to make sure we get the best value for every health care dollar that's spent. We're leading the way when it comes to accountability in health care in Canada.

At the same time, health authorities told us that union agreements were too rigid and made it difficult to focus resources on patients. In order to make our system more effective and focused on patients, we gave health authorities the tools and the flexibility they needed in Bill 29 to direct resources to where they're needed most to meet patient needs.

There is lots of good news, Mr. Speaker. There is lots of good news around the province. Right now, for example, West Kootenay–Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail is a result of the redesign of health care. It recruited three new specialists, two general surgeons and a plastic surgeon. They couldn't do that before.

In Cranbrook, the East Kootenay Regional Hospital has an internist specializing in intensive care and diagnostic and treatment services including cardiology, respiratory and gastroenterology. They couldn't do that before.

Critical care units of VGH and UBC are fully staffed, and the need for overtime has been reduced by 10 percent. For the first time in years, the emergency rooms at VGH, UBC and Richmond hospitals have achieved 100 percent staffing levels, and we've seen significant reductions in emergency room waiting times. We have been able to improve ambulance service in the heartlands.

We've invested, with the Minister of Advanced Education, in medical and nursing seats; we've increased them. There's so much good news that I'm running out of time. We have announced the MSA General Hospital in the Fraser Valley. I know those folks were waiting for that for 20 years. I think what I will say is that Budget 2003 builds on these improvements. It maintains the $1.1 billion increase that we gave to the health care budget last year; and I am proud to support our Premier, our Finance minister and this government in speaking in support of this budget.

Hon. G. Halsey-Brandt: Just before I start, the Minister of Health Planning is beside me, the member for Kelowna-Mission. I happened to have had the opportunity to be in the Okanagan on Friday last, and she mentioned two things I just want to comment on. One was a new bridge, and I would certainly attest to that around rush hour certainly in greater Kelowna and Westbank.

Second, I was there to visit my stepmother, who is very ill in the hospital. I would just like to say, in terms of your comments on the Kelowna hospital, I was just thrilled with the service — she's in intensive care — that she was getting from the doctors and nurses, the staff and even the volunteers who wear the red jackets. I would just like to say thank you on behalf of my family. I'm a few hundred miles away, so I don't get up very often, but I certainly feel much better after having spent two or three hours in the hospital with her on Friday. In terms of the care she's getting as a British Columbian, I'm really proud, and I just want to say thank you for that.

It's a privilege to rise this afternoon and respond to the budget speech. This government, as the members know, is now 21 months into our mandate. We've had 21 months to begin to chart a new course for British Columbia, a course that gives British Columbians hope for the future through better health care, education for our young people, economic growth, social programs for those in need, well-thought-out plans for major sectors of our province such as energy and transportation, and enhanced environmental protection to keep British Columbia the beautiful place it is for our children and our grandchildren.

It would be impossible for any government anywhere to deliver programs such as these to taxpayers without sound financial resources. Twenty-one months ago in the election campaign of 2001, our Premier outlined his goal of revitalizing the economy, and putting patients, students and people in need first, and clearly stated to British Columbians that this was not possible without restoring the financial health of our province through sound fiscal management. The Premier gave the Minister of Finance that task of laying out the financial course for our province. The Minister of Finance established a plan to get our fiscal house in order, with a goal of a balanced budget at the end of the 2004-05 budget year. Today I want to congratulate the Premier and the Minister of Finance for keeping us on track and, in fact, perhaps a bit ahead of schedule in this task.

My constituency of Richmond Centre has been touched in so many positive ways by the initiatives of the government thus far, and the measures outlined in the budget speech will help us move even further as a constituency to build on our successes. Hon. members will recall that one of the first things we did as government was cut personal income taxes by 25 percent. We reduced the personal tax rate for those earning less than $60,000 per year to the lowest in Canada. This was followed by a reduction in the marginal tax rate for high-income earners. We eliminated the corporate capital tax on all but financial institutions. We reduced the corporate tax rate and increased the small business tax threshold from $200,000 to $300,000 per year.

We reduced the tax on aviation fuel in British Columbia. This was particularly beneficial in keeping Vancouver International Airport competitive. YVR is the biggest employer in my constituency.

This budget proposes even more tax changes to allow our province to grow and to diversify. An increase in venture capital tax credits for new investment in new media companies, a top-up tax credit for productions using digital animation and visual effects, tax credits for television and film projects in the heart-

lands, a tax credit for our fledgling book publishing industry and a fuel-tax exemption for fuel used in gas-turbine–powered cruise ships are just some of the tax changes that would help to revitalize the economy.

These tax measures, as well as low interest rates and resulting renewed confidence in our economy, have led to a surge of construction activity in Richmond. The residential housing market is booming, registering more housing starts than anywhere else in the lower mainland. According to statistics released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, January 2003 saw Richmond housing starts up 172 percent over the same time last year. Construction cranes and high-rise towers under construction have returned to our city.

I'm also pleased to note that one of the new towers of about 100 units that we expect to see built this year is for the seniors of our community. The city of Richmond, the Greater Vancouver Housing Corporation, the Vancouver coastal health authority and SUCCESS have all come together to take advantage of our new assisted-living housing program to make this project possible. This moves us one step closer to the Premier's commitment to provide 5,000 new intermediate and long-term care beds by 2006.

Development applications of all kinds for industrial, commercial and residential projects in the city are up 60 percent January to November 2002 over the same period of 2001. Of particular note is the new Aberdeen shopping centre, which is expected to be completed by November 2003. It will be this year, just in time for Christmas. A shopping centre of over 500,000 square feet with over 1,000 parking stalls and including a 175-room hotel is under construction. This very substantial financial investment reflects the confidence of the private sector in the growth of retail sales and the B.C. economy generally.

Another example is the planned expansion by the Great Canadian Casino Co. on the Bridgeport market site in my constituency, a project of over 300,000 square feet with a hotel, casinos, offices and retail shops. On completion, this new development is expected to create 950 new jobs in the city.

In terms of new businesses in my community, the number of new business licences issued was up 20 percent in 2002 over 2001. As important, the number of new employees for these new businesses, in fact, was a 10 percent increase for the same period in 2001.

I find these figures particularly encouraging, because my constituency is one where recent immigrants to Canada play a large role in community and economic activities. The recent census results show that the population of Richmond is composed of 59 percent visible minorities. In addition, more than 10 percent of the residents reported a language other than English and French as the language of choice on the job. This 10 percent figure compares to only 3 percent around the province generally. These immigrants have come to B.C. to build a better economic future, for better educational opportunities and to experience a safer and environmentally rewarding life for themselves and their families.

Our government, led by the Premier, is doing our best to meet their expectations, and I believe the growth figures I quoted indicate, indeed, that we are succeeding.

The budget speech talks about opening up our province to the world by hosting the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler. The budget commits to $103 million of our $600 million commitment to the games. It also includes, over the next three years, $199 million of our $230 million commitment for the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre. This matches the $230 million federal commitment. The tourism industry is investing $90 million in the project, for a total price of $550 million. Just the other day the Minister of Competition, Science and Enterprise announced the purchase of the land by our government to complete the deal. This is good news for British Columbia.

Our Olympic bid contains significant potential for the whole province in many unique ways and also for my constituency of Richmond Centre. The Olympic media broadcast centre is proposed on a portion of land in central Richmond that the city is negotiating to purchase from the federal government. These 135 acres are proposed to be the site of parkland, a business park, recreational facilities, and a trade and exhibition centre. It is a win-win scenario for everyone, with a building that will house the trade and exhibition centre, proposed by Tourism Richmond, to be used as the Olympic broadcast centre at the outset — a unique way to combine resources to make both dreams come true.

Although not directly related to the Olympic bid, it is positive and timely that several agencies have come together to work for a rapid transit line from Richmond Centre to the airport to downtown Vancouver to be built in time for the Olympic Games. This line will have one of the highest ridership levels in the region. In fact, there are now more commuters going into Richmond from Vancouver to work than there are commuters going in the other direction. In addition, the airport is home to 24,000 jobs, and about 15 million passengers use YVR annually.

This heavy two-way traffic makes the Canada line, as it is called, an ideal candidate for a public-private partnership. The city of Richmond, the city of Vancouver, the Vancouver International Airport, TransLink and the province have jointly written to Prime Minister Chrétien, asking for federal financial support. All the other funding partners are aboard.

This year's budget commits to leveraging our 650 million transportation dollars, contributions over three years, with our funding partners to create more than $1.7 billion in transportation investment, including a rapid transit line between Vancouver and Richmond.

My constituents are looking forward to both the rapid transit line and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In fact, the taxpayers, through the city, have contributed $500,000 towards the bid to demonstrate their commitment. We were particularly excited this weekend with the results of the plebiscite in Vancou-

ver. So much so that on one of the main bridges into Richmond, we've got Olympic banners all along the bridge.

I mentioned earlier that one of the highest values in my constituency, which I'm sure is also held around the province, is education. As I said earlier, a better education is why many new immigrants have come to British Columbia and to Richmond Centre. The throne speech, which we heard a couple of weeks ago, calls for new measures to improve graduation requirements and to ensure that graduates have the skills they need for life after school. For our universities and colleges, new partnerships through the Leading Edge Endowment Fund mean new resources for applied economic and social research. The budget has provided $23 million in one-time funding to the Ministry of Advanced Education to fulfil this commitment.

Richmond school district No. 38 was recognized in 2002 as having the second-highest rate of high school graduation in the province. We honour the performance of our students. Our government is committed to protecting the funding to education so that our students can continue to excel. Richmond school district was facing a shortfall in funding for the next school year, but our commitment is helping them to manage their obligations. The district has declining enrolment, but the funding level has been maintained, resulting in more money to spend per student. An additional $1.95 million was announced by the Premier for Richmond two weeks ago.

Finally, the school board is expecting a $4.3 million surplus from their '02-03 budget. These steps are in keeping with our goal of redirecting any funds saved in the Education ministry through efficiencies back into education. We have two new high schools opening this year in Richmond — McNeil Secondary and a brand-new Richmond Secondary — which will be treasured by the students who attend them. I know the district will make every effort, through our excellent teachers, to provide a variety of high-quality courses.

This budget not only allows the Richmond school district to meet their commitment of putting students first in this school year, but going forward, the budget increases the Ministry of Education budget by more than $80 million in '04-05 and a further lift of $60 million in '05-06. This increased funding, combined with the declining student enrolment, means that all school districts will have more financial resources to improve the quality of education to make sure our students get the best education possible.

My constituency is the home of the Richmond Hospital. It is also the home of a brand-new kidney dialysis centre located on our main street. We are very pleased that through the Vancouver coastal health authority and the provincial health services authority, we have a well-functioning hospital and a brand-new dialysis centre. Before, our residents who required kidney dialysis had to travel into Vancouver on a daily basis, often taking up to two hours' travel time each day. The travel time has now been reduced to about half an hour in total, significantly increasing the quality of life of the patients and their families.

Health spending in British Columbia is fast outstripping the ability of the taxpayer to keep up. In 1965 the government offered only one program in health care, and that was hospital insurance. Now programs are offered in hospital insurance, Pharmacare, ambulance service, telehealth, prevention and wellness, and home and community care. The cost of health care has doubled to $10.4 billion over the past decade. It now consumes all of our personal income tax, all of our sales tax, all the MSP premium income and all lottery income. To make sure we continue to deliver the best health care possible to British Columbians, we have increased compensation to our nurses and doctors to retain those we have and to attract others. We have a nursing strategy to train and upgrade non-practising nurses. We have a program to forgive the student loans of doctors agreeing to serve in rural communities.

Over the past decade expenditures on Pharmacare have grown by 147 percent. The number of drugs covered by Pharmacare has grown exponentially. The cost per prescription has grown, and of course, the number of seniors is increasing significantly. British Columbia provides the highest prescription cost coverage of any province in Canada. I was pleased to see that the throne speech called for a new Fair Pharmacare plan that will end the inequities between high- and lower-income earners whereby some high-income earners often pay less for their drugs than those on lower incomes. With these changes many low-income families will pay less than they do now. Young families with lower incomes will now be supported in their drug costs. A truly fair Pharmacare plan was outlined by the Minister of Health Services this morning in his news conference, and we welcome that in my constituency.

The recent first ministers meeting in Ottawa over health care resulted in an agreement for additional funding for British Columbia. Ten million dollars or possibly $12 million over the next three years, depending on the growth of the federal surplus, means an additional $1.3 billion for British Columbia over the next three years to sustain the health care system that we enjoy in B.C. and to provide funding for primary care centres, catastrophic drug costs and home care. British Columbia, under the leadership of our Premier, has worked in partnership with the federal government to secure this health care funding. We have a long way to go, as the federal share of health costs has slowly climbed from a low of 12 percent in 1993 to 14 percent now and, with this new money, in the vicinity of 15 percent or 16 percent. But with these additional federal dollars and the efficiencies put in place by our regional health authorities, the future can only look better for a sustainable and first-class health care system in British Columbia.

An area of the budget that I find particularly exciting for British Columbia and my constituency is the heartlands economic strategy that's outlined. I can hear that heart beating out there. I count my constituency of

Richmond Centre as a key part and beneficiary of the heartlands economic strategy.

Policy changes regarding tenure in the coastal forest industry can only lead to improvements in that industry and a very positive impact on the log storage and sawmill operations along the north and middle arm of the Fraser River in Richmond. Improvements in transportation and a B.C. resort task force to build on and expand the numerous summer and winter resorts around the province can only lead to greater passenger traffic through the Vancouver International Airport. Our float plane and regional air carriers stand ready to provide first-class customer service. The numerous hotels in my constituency look forward to serving resort customers as they pass through Richmond to their regional destinations.

I've only touched on two areas — the forest industry and the B.C. resort task force — but there will be many opportunities for all of us in transportation, energy, agriculture and new technologies that the heartlands economic strategy will provide.

In conclusion, I want to reiterate what this budget means to me and my constituents. We are staying the course financially. We are managing government expenditures to reduce the deficit and be in a surplus position after '04-05. The citizens of my constituency in British Columbia realize that a strong economy allows for government to raise the revenues for health, education and our social service programs. The best guarantee of great programs on the social side of the ledger is a great economy. Under the leadership of our Premier and the Minister of Finance, this budget demonstrates that we are on track. We have more to do, and a brighter future lies ahead.

Finally, I would just like to mention that the Premier came the morning after the budget speech to address the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and guests to a sold-out crowd in our city. He had several standing ovations and overwhelming support for the course that we are on. On behalf of all of us, I would like to say thank you to the Premier for that visit. It's pay as we go, balance the budget, not leaving debt to our children. We'll have a surplus in the future that we'll be able to spend on education, health care and our social services.

Hon. S. Santori: It is with a great deal of pride that I stand today to respond to the budget speech. I'm proud that I was given the opportunity and privilege to represent the people of the West Kootenay–Boundary. It is truly an honour, and I want to thank my constituents for such an honour.

I'm also proud to be part of a government that has laid out a plan and a vision that will serve all British Columbians not only for today but well into the future — a plan that will restore sound fiscal management and revitalize our economy so that patients will get the care they need, students will get a quality education, and those most vulnerable in our society will get the help they need.

These are the priorities of our government and also the priorities of all British Columbians. We will deliver. Actually, we are already delivering. For the first time in decades, every government ministry will be on budget or under. This strong commitment to fiscal management is paying off and will continue to pay off in the future. The budget speech and the Premier's state-of-the-province address set out a number of initiatives and a vision for the future of our entire province — a vision that recognizes that a strong and vibrant rural British Columbia is vital to the future prosperity of all British Columbians. I am encouraged and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for British Columbia and especially for my riding of West Kootenay–Boundary.

I want to speak about these opportunities, but before I do that, I want to reflect back for a minute on the past year. There is no question that the past 12 months have been challenging and difficult for all of us, and especially difficult for those who were affected by the changes and difficult choices that our government was compelled to make. It would have been much easier to do nothing. It would have been much easier and, actually, a lot of fun if the only decisions we needed to make were short-term popular ones. But failing to do what is right and what is necessary will not serve British Columbians well. Instead, it will further compound the problems and challenges that we face today, and it will do absolutely nothing to ensure that our province enjoys economic prosperity in the future.

It would be so easy to ignore our problems and leave them for someone else to deal with. Unfortunately, that someone else would be our children and grandchildren. Our government is not going to burden future generations because of our inability or unwillingness to do what is right. One thing that was clear over the past year was that despite the controversy over some of the very difficult decisions the government made, the vast majority of my constituents recognized that change was required and that we could not continue down the path of the past. The "buy now, pay later" plan is not an option if we are to protect our core services and restore our economy for tomorrow. We need to think beyond today.

As parents we always say we want what is best for our children, and we do. That is why it is so critical that we stick to our plan to balance the budget, live within our means and stop adding to our debt. Failure to do this will diminish our hope for prosperity in the future and put at risk those valuable core services that people depend on and deserve. Sticking to our fiscal plan will require strong discipline and hard work from all of us, but we must also maintain sufficient flexibility within our plan to respond responsibly to unintended or unforeseen impacts. Sound fiscal management need not be restrictive. It can also go hand in hand with creative and innovative solutions.

I just want to give one example of some of these creative solutions, and that is the issue around our courthouses. The Attorney General, with the restraints that he

had within his budget, had to identify how the delivery of court services was being provided. Unfortunately, there were some courthouses throughout the province where caseloads could not justify the existence of a full-service courthouse. As government, we entered into a partnership with municipalities, the B.C. Buildings Corporation and the Attorney General's office. We worked on a solution that allowed municipalities to retain their courthouses and some to retain their heritage buildings. The Attorney General was able to come in within the budget restraint that he had, and the people of those communities received access to justice. Those are innovative solutions that we can work on as we proceed down this difficult time of change.

Communication and working together is critical during a time of change. I'm pleased that our government will be doing more to ensure that people get the factual information they need, so that they have a better understanding of the challenges we face and what government is doing to address those challenges. People in my riding have been telling me that they want and need this information. It is government's responsibility to get factual information to our constituents, and we will. When people have factual information, they can monitor the changes, and we can work together to address those areas that may not be achieving the intended results.

I look forward to continuing to work with all the constituents in my riding of West Kootenay–Boundary so that I can better understand their concerns and work with them on solutions that will help achieve our common goals. I want to give another example of what happened last year where, by talking to people and to stakeholders and those that deliver services, we were able to accommodate and address their issues. Last year the Solicitor General restructured the specialized victim assistance program to rationalize the distribution of funding in order to provide more services to more communities such as the village of Midway, which had great need for this type of service but never received it. They do now receive it. But having made those changes, the city of Grand Forks lost their specialized victim assistance program, and that in itself created a gap as a result of Grand Forks's distance from other major communities that do provide these services.

As a result of discussions with service providers and members of the community and a meeting with the Minister of State for Women's Equality, Grand Forks now has a counselling service that provides individual and group counselling to women who have experienced abuse to deal with the trauma and achieve resolution of the experiences of abuse and assault. I want to take this time now to express my sincere thanks to the Minister of State for Women's Equality for having assisted in bringing to Grand Forks the Stopping the Violence counselling program, something that is very valuable to that community and very much needed.

As I said earlier, I am very excited and encouraged by the initiatives and the comprehensive vision that have been set out in both the budget speech and the Premier's provincial address. As a former mayor and councillor of a rural community for 13 years, I know of the unrelenting efforts of elected officials, chambers of commerce and economic development officers throughout the heartlands of British Columbia to convince the provincial government of the need to work with rural communities and to rebuild and diversify their economies. Our requests and pleas went unanswered. Sure, there was a grant here and a grant there and a subsidy here and a subsidy there, but there was never an economic plan or a long-term strategy for the communities and regions in the heartlands of this wonderful province.

The Premier recognized this need a long time ago. He recognized that the economies of rural communities needed an injection of attention from the provincial government. I'm glad to rise here to say that the heartlands are now going to get that attention they deserve. As mayor I remember many meetings and telephone conversations with the Premier, when he was the mayor of Vancouver and president of the Union of B.C. Municipalities. Back then the Premier emphasized the need for regional planning and strategies. He recognized even then that resource-based communities needed their industries to be revitalized and that economic diversification was key.

Shortly after we were elected, the Premier appointed regional caucus committees, a realization then that we needed to get out into our regions and speak to the people of our communities. Over the past year the Kootenay caucus met several times throughout the East and West Kootenays, reporting our findings to the Premier. One of the purposes of these regional caucus committees was to meet with representatives of the region, municipal councils, regional districts, industry and the business community to determine their needs and priorities. There is no question that the economy and jobs were their number one priority. Our government is going to respond.

I am thrilled by and optimistic about the strategy that our Premier announced in his state-of-the-province address. The B.C. heartlands economic strategy is a strategy that will see economic development plans implemented across the province, incorporating plans for infrastructure, human capital and marketing; a strategy that will have new investment in transportation infrastructure, such as the long-overdue improvements to Highway 3; a transportation strategy that includes no tolls on inland ferries and a much-needed expansion to the Cranbrook Airport.

The expansion of the Cranbrook Airport is a true sign of four MLAs working together for something that will be to the benefit of all in the West and East Kootenays. We see the Cranbrook Airport as providing a tremendous opportunity, now that it will get international status, to bring more tourists and more visitors to the Kootenays. Then we can have a nice peaceful competition as to who is going to draw those tourists. I'm sure the West Kootenay–Boundary will get their fair share of what the Cranbrook Airport will do for us.

Government is responding to the need for dramatic improvements and expansion of our province's transportation system. A total of $650 million will be committed to transportation infrastructure over the next three years, providing jobs and opportunities throughout the province. Action is being taken now to support economic growth and prosperity in all parts of the province — and this will be undertaken without adding to our provincial debt, Mr. Speaker — a strategy that will provide new opportunities for tourism, sports and recreation from a successful Olympic bid; a strategy that will put policies in place that will allow our forest industry to thrive once again; a strategy that will bring mining back to British Columbia.

Also part of the heartlands economic strategy is a B.C. resort task force being established to work with four-season resort communities to ensure that the province's resort potential is fully realized and fully recognized around the world. This is long-awaited, great news and will provide a tremendous opportunity for communities such as Rossland and the Red Mountain ski resort.

Not only will it benefit the city of Rossland, but it has the potential to be a major economic driver for the entire West Kootenay region. Just this past year the Minister of Sustainable Resource Management signed a 50-year lease expanding access to Crown land for Red Mountain Resorts, making Red Mountain the second-largest ski area, second only to Whistler-Blackcomb. This expansion will allow for an increase from 2,000 to 10,000 skiers and snowboarders per day and opens the door to over $30 million of investment.

That investment has already started. The changes we introduced as soon as we became government, with the reduction of the personal income tax and the business tax and welcoming investors to come back to this province, has already started to pay off in the West Kootenay–Boundary. Last year Red Mountain Resorts, owned by Robert and Robin Feldt, who came from Australia to invest and build and sell high-end ski chalets…. Last year 16 were built. They were all presold and gone, and 20 more are planned for construction this year.

Rossland and Red Mountain's potential is being noticed worldwide, and that is evident with the significant increase in tourists this season from places such as Australia, New Zealand and New York as well as the west coast of the United States — not to mention the fact that we had the best snow conditions for skiing this year in the province. Word is getting out. Visitors are coming, and so is investment.

Just one more thing on Rossland. Two weeks ago Disney films announced that Rossland would be one of the sites of the Disney production of Miracle, starring Kurt Russell. Rossland will be Lake Placid, New York, during the 1980 Olympics, and filming will take place over a two-week period — more good news, more jobs and more exposure for the West Kootenay–Boundary.

This is only one of the many opportunities that the heartlands economic strategy can bring to the West Kootenays. With the opening up of the Kootenays, we will see more businesses like Powder Outfitters in Rock Creek and Snowwater Creek Lodge in Castlegar, which started last year, offering back-country recreation that is second to none and is sought after by people from all over the world. Tourism can and will be an economic driver in the West Kootenay–Boundary in the years to come. We have too much to offer for it not to be.

Finally, there is a realization that the economic and social health of the province is dependent on having a strong and vibrant rural economy. The B.C. heartlands economic strategy gives renewed optimism to the people of British Columbia.

I would like to take a few moments to talk a bit about my ministry and some of the initiatives that are being undertaken. In the throne speech it was announced that the chief information office, the service delivery project, the government agents branch and government's telecommunications function, all currently situated in different ministries, will be transferred to the Ministry of Management Services. By bringing government information and technology projects under one umbrella together with other service-focused initiatives, government can serve the public much better. Now we will have various related services under one ministry where there is a common approach to service delivery. This will increase cost-efficiency for taxpayers, enhance accountability measures and focus on results.

As well, Management Services will act as a central champion for change, responsible for driving service transformation across government. Our government made a commitment to transform government services to meet the everyday needs of the people of British Columbia. We will deliver on this commitment. We believe every British Columbian should be able to access government services efficiently and effectively wherever they live in this province, whether it be through the Internet, through call centres or through face-to-face interaction with government agents.

It's no secret that British Columbia leads the country in connectivity. We are big on the Internet, whether it be for checking on-line ferry schedules, finding out about government policies and services, selling our products or professional services virtually, booking vacations, paying our bills or shopping in the comfort of our own homes. Our government is encouraging this shift.

In addition to providing transcripts on the Internet, Hansard Services publishes transcripts in print and broadcasts Chamber debates on television.

Official Report of

DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY