Hansard -- Thursday, February 19, 2004 a.m. -- Vol. 20, No. 10 (HTML)

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

Official Report of

DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY


CONTENTS

	Routine Proceedings
		Page

Budget Debate (continued)		8651
	Hon. G. Bruce
	Hon. S. Hagen
	J. Reid
	L. Mayencourt
	Hon. R. Thorpe

Hon. G. Bruce: Good morning to everybody. I call continuing debate of the budget.

Hon. G. Bruce: It's indeed a pleasure for me today to rise and speak about the budget. It is actually historic — a balanced budget in the province of British Columbia. More importantly than that, it's a balanced budget that's going forward for the next three years and then forever, if we have government that's committed to making sure the fiscal responsibility and the cost-effective delivery of service to the people of the province are to be maintained. You know, this didn't just come about because a group of people thought it was a good idea. It's come about because of some very strong leadership by the Premier of British Columbia.

If we cast back in history not all that long ago — back around 2000 or so — we'll remember the consternation that was being expressed by all throughout the province at the mess this province was in and the fact that it was time to bring fiscal order to our house so that we could provide the services to the people in British Columbia in a manner that was utilizing their tax dollars in the most cost-effective way possible and would bring services to them in a way that was done from the perspective of who you were trying to serve — whether it's patients in the health care system, students in education or, quite frankly, at the end of the day, the taxpayers themselves.

In making sure the dollar they're giving to government…. Let's not forget that government doesn't have any money of its own. It's all your money. The dollar you take off your paycheque every second Friday or every Friday, or whenever it is you get your paycheque, is all the dollars government has. It's your dollar.

The Premier made a commitment, as did all of us as members of the B.C. Liberal Party in running for government during the election of 2001. We would bring stability and fiscal responsibility back to the province and do it in such a way that the little ideological changes that come from time to time…. When, God forbid, we would have a change of government and find ourselves in the throes of what took place through that decade of decline with the NDP, they wouldn't be able to go helter-skelter off in their own direction one other time.

That's why we passed balanced-budget legislation. That's why we brought transparency into the whole budgeting process. That's why we've made three-year revolving budgets. Now we have a budget in British Columbia that is the most transparent and, by legislation, the most affirmed of any of the jurisdictions in Canada, any of the provinces or the federal government. That's because, quite frankly, of strong leadership by the Premier of British Columbia.

When we talk about a balanced budget, what's a balanced budget? In and of itself, it's not anything. It is what it allows you to be able to do going forward. When your budget is not balanced, it's that simple fact of spending more money than you're taking in. Most households understand that, you hope. If you continue to spend more money than you're going to take in, you're going to find yourself, in your own personal situation, in a lot of fiscal difficulty.

That's, in fact, what happened here during that decade of decline through the former NDP administration. It didn't just happen by mistake. It actually happened by plan. There were specific things the former NDP administration took upon themselves to bring in, in respect to public policy in British Columbia, which put us in a have-not position in British Columbia — all the more important for us to find a way to get this budget balanced.

We've all heard of the fast ferries in times past — that $500 million boondoggle. That was actually a planned event. It went through Treasury Board; it went through cabinet of the NDP administration. They actually specifically decided to go and do what it was they'd been told by the experts not to do. They did it, and it cost you and me and the taxpayers of British Columbia some $500 million.

It's not just the $500 million that was spent in a way that produced three ships we can no longer use and we have to sell. We still, then, have to find ways to find replacement ships, and we have that loss of $500 million that can't ever be recovered. It can't now go to other types of services that need to be delivered. It was taxpayers' money that was blown.

That's one side, when you look at how it is we got here. The other stuff is in regard to the types of policy changes they made in regard to the mining industry. The mining industry used to contribute about $4 billion in revenue to the province. It used to employ some 14,000 people. You know, those 14,000 people from the standpoint of income, of wages, represent somewhere in the neighbourhood of $80,000 to $110,000 a year in average income. Our miners, if you like, from that high of the early nineties of some 14,000 miners, by 1998, through the actions and policies of the former NDP administration, had been reduced to 7,900. We basically took the mining industry and carved it in half.

It's a great contributor of revenue to the province. It's a great contributor of revenue that allows us to bring services to people, whether it's children and families, whether it's hospitals or whether it's education. We literally took that — the former NDP administration through the policies they brought to this province — and destroyed that industry. Now, we've had to work hard to bring that back. To give you some idea of

how long that's going to take, it took ten years to thrash it. Let's understand what it takes to bring it back.

For mining exploration in British Columbia and probably in other parts of the world, it takes about ten years from the exploration that starts to the actual bringing a mine into production. In the early nineties there was some $250 million a year in exploration work. By 1998, through the policies of the former NDP administration, that had been reduced to $19 million. From $250 million of exploration work every year, that had been cut back to $19 million. So it's going to take a while to bring back the mining industry to British Columbia, this great contributor of revenues.

You know, often people in their minds, when they think about it, think we'll have all this mining taking place in British Columbia. Less than 1 percent of the land mass of this province today is under mining. We have an opportunity there to do a lot more, but they were direct policies. This didn't just happen by mistake. They were direct policies by the former NDP administration that started to reduce the revenues to government, which put us in the difficulty we've been faced with that this government has had to face up to.

Take the forest industry. The forest industry itself, the largest sector of our economy, that provides thousands of jobs both direct and indirect to the people of British Columbia…. Because of the lack of leadership — again, because of policies directed by the former NDP administration — we saw a reduction in the IWA, that large private sector union being reduced by over 10,000 members.

You know, I have to wonder. When people talk about the NDP as being the party that's actually for the working person in British Columbia, if you just take the mining industry and the forestry sectors alone and add those together, there is no way one can come back and equate and say the NDP as a party is the party for the working person in British Columbia. It clearly isn't.

In fact, the strongest days for the working people in British Columbia of that income earning — and I'm talking about it in respect to the union movement — was at the time of the Social Credit government here in British Columbia. It comes back, quite frankly, to having a strong economic policy and a good, functioning economy, which encourages business to grow, develop and invest. The changes we are making through our employment standards, our labour relations issues and the taxation policies we're bringing in are all aiming to restore confidence within our economy, restore confidence for those who would invest — British Columbians themselves and others from outside — once again in this great province.

It doesn't just happen. The problem didn't just happen by mistake. The problem happened by design. Let me be clear about it. At this time, 15 months prior to the next election, it's important for people in this province to understand there will be a choice they have to make. You can go way back. You can put yourself back into the problems you were faced with during these past ten years of that former NDP administration, or you can continue to do those things that are difficult. You continue to bring about the type of structural change necessary to making sure this province has a bright future — for us that live here today, for our children and for our grandchildren as they come along.

Let us also understand that when there are deficits, it's not just somebody else there who gets to pay for it. You know, when we talk about the social service side of things and how important it is to do those things for our children, let's also remember, as we continue to add up debt — billions of dollars of debt — it's those very children who are going to have to pay that debt. It requires some difficult choices to make sure that you have a fiscally responsible government. It's easy to just blow money off the back of the truck. It's a whole pile more difficult to sit and try and work through a plan that requires difficult choices by members of this government to bring forward a fiscal plan that will allow us to redevelop both socially and economically in this province, and those choices have been made.

Obviously, some people would make choices differently than other people. But the bottom line is this: it can't be done. It can't be done without difficult choices being made. There aren't any easy little answers for how you're going to go about bringing back fiscal responsibility to British Columbia and how you're going to be able to restore that social and economic program that we used to very much enjoy when British Columbia was a have province and not a have-not province.

I heard the Leader of the Opposition the other day talking about incomes, and whether or not you are better off today than in 2000 with the former NDP administration. Well, here are just some baseline facts. In January of 2004 there were 2.1 million British Columbians working. In December of 2001 and just prior, back to the former NDP administration, there were 1.9 million British Columbians working. There are more British Columbians working today than there were in the year 2000. The next thing — they're making less. Let's take a look at that. In May of 2000 the average weekly earnings for British Columbians were $635 per week. The Canadian average was $611. By January of 2004, the average weekly earnings were $676 per week and the Canadian average was $673.

On the hourly rate, if we want to go to that, in May of 2000 British Columbia's average hourly wage was $17.53. In Canada it was $16.54. For January of 2004, now four years later, that $17.53 has grown to $19.04. Still, we lead Canada's average of $18.49. In all those categories we're either first, second or third. In fact, things are turning around.

You know the way you can tell that? You can tell it by what's happening in respect to housing construction, renovations and car sales. This isn't some foreign multinational that some people have problems with coming in and investing in your country — and these big bogeymen that come. This actually represents how British Columbians feel about their future.

If a British Columbian is going to go out and add a new room to the house, build a new kitchen and put on a new dining room, put on new siding, a new roof —

or, in fact, go and build a new house — they're actually, by doing that, demonstrating that they have confidence in the future. We have seen housing starts just soar during the past two or three years. We have seen renovations and repairs just soar. These are as a result of British Columbians feeling confident about the future.

I understand that some people will say: "Well, obviously there are other factors like low interest rates." Yes, there are. There are low interest rates. That all helps, but take a moment to think about this. If low interest rates factor into your decision of whether or not you're going to go either buy a new house or renovate a new house, it must mean that you have to borrow some money. If you actually go to borrow some money, they usually ask you whether you have a job, and they usually figure out whether or not that job's got any longevity to it. So the interest rates, albeit, are a factor.

The confidence, in the individual that is going about building that house or the financial institutions in lending those individuals the money to be able to do that, has got to be there, or you wouldn't have seen this rise take off. So underlying all the other pontificating that goes on about whether we're better off or not better off, or whether there's confidence or not confidence — never mind all the rhetoric — the facts actually speak very loudly and clearly in regard to what we're seeing in respect to housing construction. Those are British Columbians that have faith in the future.

Over 159,000 jobs since about January of 2001 until today have been created in British Columbia — 159,000 jobs. Let's be clear about that. Those are jobs created by the private sector. That's not us in this House that have gone out and created those jobs, but it is this government making sure that the right type of regulatory regime, the right type of environment, is being created so that people — small businesses, big businesses, middle-sized businesses — feel confident about investing, reinvesting and expanding their businesses to create that type of job growth. The largest job growth sector in all of North America is right here in British Columbia, and that's got to say to me that things are actually improving.

The other thing I hear from time to time in regard to the opposition is that there's all this upset and all this disarray, and I'm speaking now specifically on the labour climate. Having a good, skilled workforce and labour peace is very important for an economy to grow and for us to be able to reach revenue targets that are being projected here and where we're going to go in this province not only this year but during the course of the next five, six, seven years and onward.

In fact, if you look at the labour situation in British Columbia and if you look at the year 2000, these are some baseline facts that people might want to look at. In the year 2000 there were 88 strikes in British Columbia, and there were 425,000 man- and woman-days lost. In the year 2002 there were 18 strikes. So in 2000 it was 88, and in 2002 it's 18, and there were 75,000 man- and woman-days lost in the province. Regardless of all the hullabaloo that has gone on, if you get past the great big-P politics of the B.C. Fed and a few others who would like to tell you that the world is falling apart, in fact, there are people working in a peaceful way.

Now, more importantly, let's look at what has transpired in that. During that time in the public sector negotiations and agreements, this government, with the public sector and others, has reached 27 public sector agreements during the course of the last two years. That's 27 public sector agreements that have been negotiated, and let's not forget that very large one with the BCGEU, which is the largest public sector union in British Columbia.

If you want to flip to the private sector, you can take a look at the pulp industry and the paper industry, which traditionally have difficulty reaching agreement. They reached an agreement five months before the expiration of their contract, and it was a five-year agreement. That's the type of stability you need within that industry, but because the forestry sector is so huge in our whole economy, it's absolutely paramount in developing a new relationship that the industry and the union have worked together to develop and bring them together as partners so that we have a sustainable industry moving forward.

Then you come back to what was done by a number of players in regard to the forest industry organization and the IWA in trying to reach an agreement, with each party, both sides, knowing — and you will recall that back in December, they were on strike — that there needed to be significant forestry restructuring in this province if we were going to move it ahead and bring back the forestry industry as the number one engine of the economy in B.C.

Difficulty in making the changes…. Well, right in the middle of that, they were faced with a whole negotiation of developing a new contract — not an easy time to do that. Those parties stretched. As difficult as it was, they stretched, both of them realizing that there needed to be structural change and that they were going to have to do things differently in how they operated in the forest. They also recognized that they weren't going to be able to get there by themselves, so they came to government and asked whether or not there was a way we could help.

With all of the parties working together, we were able to find a way to take that strike and to eliminate that strike from the agenda, from what people were faced with. Nobody wanted the strike. The IWA members didn't want it. The industry didn't want it. We as a province didn't want it. We all knew that if we didn't do something collaboratively and if it was to flow into the new year, into this particular year, we could be faced with a prolonged labour dispute well past March and probably into the new year.

Those parties — I have to hand it to the IWA, and I have to hand it to FIR — found a way with a little bit of assistance of government to come back, to work it out so that we can keep that whole forestry sector in the

rebuild model that we're on. You now have the pulp and paper sector done for five years. You've got the forestry sector through a mediation-arbitration process. You've got those two linking together. You've got the restructuring that's taking place in the forestry industry over all of what's required so that we can get this thing back on track in the right way.

Then let's take a look at the other job side in regard to where we move in regard to skilled workers and the other component of that, the demographic change we're faced with as we move ahead. What this government is working through and what we have to make sure we accomplish is that as the economy starts to pick up — and it is — and as the demand for skilled trades workers is there, we want to make sure first and foremost that it's the people of British Columbia that are those skilled trade workers or those professional people that we've been able to train and bring to the province or to have right here and train through our educational systems and apprenticeship programs. Specifically, that's what we've been going about doing. The shame would be if we actually had to go to the outside, to other places, to bring in skilled workers and have our own citizens of British Columbia not fulfilling those jobs.

We know that if you look at the demographics, during the course of the next ten years with everybody wanting to retire at that magic age of 65…. I don't think that's probably going to happen anymore, because the thing I've found is that the older you get, the younger the older guys look. As I grow older, 65 looks younger all of the time. I don't actually see myself retiring at 65.

The fact is, though, that just on straight demographics with a retirement age of 65, we would have some 635,000 jobs that have to be filled in British Columbia between now and then. We've got a task. We've got a challenge there to fulfil. We're embarking upon a very aggressive 2010-and-beyond labour force skills trade program and human resource strategy for this province to ensure that we have the necessary skill sets in British Columbia. We've already started on that.

You often hear people saying in regard to the health profession, if you like, and the need for more nurses…. Well, there is a need for more nurses, but we've actually started. By the actions that have been taken by this government, I think we've now trained 1,800 new nurses. We've opened up more seats for nursing. When it comes to physicians, with the innovative project between the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria and the University of Northern British Columbia, we've created extra positions — seats in those universities — so we can train physicians here in British Columbia.

We also have taken advantage of the student loan program for nurses. For those nurses that work in rural areas and would stay there in those five years, their loans would be forgiven. That's just in the health sector.

My colleague the Minister of Advanced Education and other cabinet colleagues are working to bring a coordinated approach so that we are well on our way to making sure that for 2010 and beyond, we have the skilled workforce that we need here in this province.

Other things that I would just like to speak of for a little moment in regard to the budget, which speak specifically to my own riding but actually flow right across this province…. There was $120 million set aside for the first nations revenue-sharing. This was an important statement and move by this government through the leadership of the Attorney General, a very fine fellow indeed. It's this type of leadership that's required to move us through the treaty process but, more importantly, to make accessible to our communities, both socially and economically, a place for our first nations people.

My community in the Cowichan Valley has the largest Indian band in this province. For too long — I've said this before, and I'll say it again — we've had what I will call this invisible ten-foot wall that has gone right down the middle of our community. There needs to be a way of bringing people together, of opening doors.

Rather than just simply waiting and trying to move through an agreement-in-principle process and then a treaty process, this government has taken upon itself a new direction in regards to revenue-sharing. So although those will be components that will eventually fit and work through an AIP — an agreement-in-principle — and then the treaty, we can begin the sharing of those resources so that we can find an improvement in employment and skills development for our first nations people and social development for our Indian brothers and sisters who live with us in our communities. In fact, we can start to make their lives better.

When you look statistically at what they're faced with, there is no greater shame in this country than what has happened to our first nations people. It is all of us in this House and within our communities who have to make a concerted effort to open those doors, to work with them and along beside them, and to make those folks feel comfortable again in this country and in our communities.

I was very pleased indeed when just two weeks ago, through the efforts of the Attorney General, the Minister of Forests and the Premier of this province, we moved in a very expeditious way to reach an agreement on several fronts — revenue-sharing being one of them — with the Cowichan Indian band. This resulted in the largest agreement — some $13 million over the course of the next six years — to provide opportunities and skill development in the forestry sector and opportunities in social redevelopment within our community, and to allow and hopefully bring along a renewed spirit of hope and a much brighter future for the Cowichans themselves and, with that, the people of the entire Cowichan Valley. Those are good steps as we move ahead.

Mr. Speaker, what's interesting is if you go back to when we first became government, and you talk about difficult decisions. People out there right now, if you

go out there and ask them certain questions…. You can ask people questions that you know will elicit the right response. "Do you like to pay more for your cigarettes?" Well, those of you who smoke — or whoever does — are going to say no. "Do you like to pay more for a bottle of booze?" "No, I don't like to pay." Whoever it is that's buying a bottle of booze doesn't like to pay more for a bottle of booze. But the only way government actually can have resources to do the things that are necessary is by bringing taxation resources back to government.

There are difficult decisions that have to be made during the course of rebuilding an economy and rebuilding social development in our province. If we go back to 2001 when we first became government, this government had said we would put a referendum to the people about first nations issues. We heard from all and sundry across this province that this would result in blockades, that this would result in splitting people, that this would result in taking the whole first nations issue and sending it back 50 or 100 years.

In fact, it hasn't. Indeed in the end, as part of the process, as one of those tools, it has helped to move us ahead with the assembly we've had with the first nations, with the cabinet meetings — I think we've had two now, or three — with the chiefs of British Columbia, with building a relationship — all through the leadership of the Premier of this province. We've established a much better working relationship with our first nations people and, through that, hopefully a better life for them and, with the opportunity of revenue-sharing throughout the province in this respect, an opportunity to make our economy grow.

This is a significant achievement, this bringing about a balanced budget in British Columbia. It's more significant when you look at what faced us as we took over the mess that was left by the former NDP administration. God forbid that they would ever, ever find themselves in power in this province again. God forbid that we would let that happen.

I would like to congratulate the Minister of Finance, who has shown tremendous leadership himself in keeping us together, in keeping us focused and in making sure that the manner in which we utilize the taxpayers' dollar is done in a cost-effective and efficient way. I am quite confident, as we move forward during the next 15 months and up to that election in May of 2005, that all of us — all of the people in this province — will see that tough decisions require strong leadership, and we have had strong leadership here in British Columbia.

Hon. S. Hagen: It is my pleasure to rise today in support of the budget that was brought down on Tuesday. Tuesday was indeed a historic occasion for all British Columbians, because the Minister of Finance brought in a real balanced budget. That follows through with a major new-era commitment that all British Columbians can celebrate. Not only is it a real balanced budget, but it is brought in for the first time — this is the first province in Canada to do this — under generally accepted accounting principles, which includes not just government and government agencies but all of the universities, colleges and hospitals as well.

The fact that we've arrived here, as the person who spoke before me mentioned, is no accident. It took a lot of hard work and strong leadership by the Premier and by our Finance minister, who together have kept spending focused, responsible and on track for three years. We have been able to not only balance the budget, but at the same time we've cut taxes for all British Columbians, implementing the lowest personal income tax rates in Canada on the first $64,000 of income and giving British Columbia's growing business sector some of the most competitive tax rates in this country.

Having a balanced budget points to a strong future for British Columbians in 2004 and beyond, because we've made a commitment to balance the budget not only in the upcoming fiscal year but each year after that. This gives us a choice and an opportunity in dealing with the people of British Columbia. Most of all, having a balanced budget with a surplus like we have now gives us the freedom to put more money and resources into the priorities the people of this province want and need. Nowhere has this been made more clear to me and to British Columbians on income assistance than in this budget. Prudent management by this government has made it possible to put $80 million more into the Ministry of Human Resources to support income assistance recipients. I will have more to say about this later.

That's the kind of good news that is made possible with a balanced budget. It's possible because we are continuing to address the strategic goals that the Premier and this government set out for British Columbians three years ago: safe, healthy communities with a sustainable environment; a supportable social fabric; and a strong and vibrant economy.

In the past two years British Columbia companies have created over 154,000 new jobs, the strongest gain of any province in Canada. In 2003 alone British Columbia added 77,000 new jobs, more than any other province in Canada and over twice the national average. The Economic Forecast Council is expecting British Columbia to see even stronger economic growth in 2004 at 2.9 percent. The most recent regional economic outlook from TD Bank forecasts that growth will be at 3.1 percent.

These forecasts speak to opportunities — opportunities to bring out the best in our economy and opportunities for those on income assistance to bring out the best in their potential through employment. British Columbia has come a long way from the cloudy days of the NDP. In the Ministry of Human Resources this is most clearly seen in the shining vision and development of our new income assistance system. Their previous system was based on a culture of entitlement, perpetuating the endless unbreakable cycle of poverty. In the 1990s one in ten British Columbians was on in-

come assistance — one out of ten — six in ten single mothers and one out of every seven children. The welfare system was costing taxpayers $2 billion a year, and the caseload was going up. What a waste. What a waste of both taxpayers' dollars and human potential.

Looking back at all that waste, I am proud of how far we have come. In 2002 we enacted comprehensive legislation to convert their income assistance system to the new B.C. employment and assistance program. Our system provides assistance for people most in need while emphasizing long-term employment and self-sufficiency for people who are able to work. This approach is working.

The temporary assistance caseload, people who are able to work, has dropped by more than half. That's 50,000 cases since this government took office.

We implemented a two-year time limit as a tool and powerful motivator to keep our employable clients focused on employment. To help our clients reach their potential, we invested $300 million in employment programs that provide them with the skills, supports and jobs they need to break the cycle of welfare dependency. We know that the majority of the clients who have left income assistance left for employment or to go back to school. For people who can work, the Ministry of Human Resources really is the ministry of jobs.

So far nearly 30,000 income assistance clients have been placed in jobs through ministry job placement programs. This is real success. Currently, there are more than 10,000 job vacancies for income assistance clients through the ministry's job placement service providers across the province, as we continue to help our clients achieve their potential. These are good jobs like painters, security guards, dishwashers, landscapers, retail clerks and administrative assistants — jobs that pay two to three times what an individual would receive on income assistance. These former clients are not only achieving self-reliance but are also providing a better life for their children, the future of British Columbia.

In my response to the throne speech I told this House about a couple of those clients and the successes they had working with Job Wave, one of our service providers that offers a range of job placements from construction to retail to high-tech jobs, and with Destinations, another one of our service providers that specializes in finding jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Now I want to tell you more, because in my ministry there are so many stories of clients achieving success in bringing out the best in their potential through employment. One story is a man who had immigrated from Kenya and just needed the opportunity to transfer his previous employment skills and to continue to develop his English. Through ASPECT, another one of my ministry's job placement service providers, this man was matched with a job as a shipper in a warehouse and has since acquired his forklift certification and is working on developing further customer service skills. His employer says he's a good worker who is motivated and has the right attitude for success.

Let me tell you another success story. This one is from Kopar Administration, our fourth job placement service provider. It is about a woman who was not having success with her job search. Kopar's counsellors helped her revise her résumé to better show off her skills, prepare for interviews and keep a positive attitude. Now she has landed a job as a receptionist with a local company in Prince George and is enjoying the new feeling of independence that comes with employment.

I know that feeling of independence is one that all clients on income assistance want to experience, and I commend ministry staff and service providers for their commitment to making this happen.

For those clients with barriers to employment, the ministry has taken a new approach of first identifying areas where further supports are needed and then tailoring programs to meet clients' specific needs. Our programs address a full range of needs such as good nutrition, communication skills, literacy, personal financial management, English-as-a-second-language instruction and supports for clients who have experienced violence or abuse.

Clients with barriers to employment also receive higher rates of assistance so that they're more fully supported as they work to overcome personal challenges and improve their lives. Over the past two years the ministry also made significant progress for clients in need of continuous support.

People with disabilities. Providing for people with disabilities is one of my ministry's top priorities. Here in British Columbia we are a leader in developing programs that advance these opportunities. Those clients receive the highest rates of income assistance in B.C. and the fourth-highest rate in Canada. Furthermore, our government recognizes that many people with disabilities are able to work and want to work.

We have responded with a series of programs and supports to assist them in reaching their goals and maximizing their independence. We doubled the earnings exemption to $400 a month to encourage people with disabilities who are able to work to participate in the workforce as best they can. We established a $20 million Disability Supports for Employment Fund that is already beginning to open more doors for those with disabilities to participate more fully in their workplace. We implemented a full continuum of employment-related services and have invested $24 million for employment programs for people with disabilities to help them move towards greater independence. We are forging new partnerships with community and business leaders through the Minister's Council on Employment for Persons with Disabilities, a council that I look forward to being a part of when it next convenes in the spring here in Victoria.

My ministry has invested in these initiatives because we recognize that people with disabilities want to achieve greater independence for themselves and their families. I firmly believe that providing opportu-

nities for people with disabilities not only benefits the individual but also strengthens communities and moves British Columbia toward a more prosperous future.

Yes, the Ministry of Human Resources has made significant progress. During our mandate, I'm proud to report that more than 87,000 British Columbians in total have benefited from the government's emphasis on employment and no longer rely on income assistance. By moving clients who are able to work from dependence to self-reliance, we now have more support going to those who truly need it the most.

As we look to the future, we are committed to staying the course and building on these achievements. Within the ministry we met our budget for 2003 and remain fiscally on target for the future. The '04-05 budget for the Ministry of Human Resources will be $1.3 billion. This is $80 million more than what was forecasted in last year's service plan. There will be 8,200 more cases receiving persons-with-disabilities assistance in the coming year than we thought. That's because the population of British Columbia is aging. We know these cases require more funding due to a higher rate of assistance and more health benefits.

There will also be 2,500 more temporary assistance cases than we thought. That's because the temporary assistance caseload decline has slowed down and those who remain on the caseload have more barriers to employment and require more supports to find jobs. Altogether it is going to cost $80 million more to support those 10,700 cases. It's estimated that the additional funds required to support 1,200 cases as a result of the latest time-limits exemptions will be $9 million to $12 million.

The reality is that our caseload is changing. Those who remain on the caseload require more funding and supports from government. In response, we will continue to adapt our employment planning and programming to support the changing profile of our clients' needs. We have almost 2,000 FTEs and over 100 offices across the province and are using new technology to ensure that resources are reaching those who need the most, even in remote locations. By streamlining our regional service delivery, we are providing levels of service that are more efficient for income assistance recipients and cost-effective for taxpayers. We are taking steps to ensure that the income assistance system we're building for B.C. will be affordable, sustainable and fair. Most of all, the system respects the values of individuals, recognizes their unique potential and celebrates their futures.

Mr. Speaker, British Columbians had a vision of an economically strong British Columbia. They trusted us to realize that vision while ushering this great province into a decade of opportunity. For tabling a sustainable balanced budget this week, I congratulate the Minister of Finance, the Premier and this government on achieving this historic goal for British Columbia. It has been a challenging task, but we can already see the rewards of our fiscal discipline.

A balanced budget speaks to taxpayers of the responsibility and care that government uses in managing British Columbia's resources. A balanced budget speaks to investors of the economic potential and strong foundation of our province, and most importantly, a balanced budget speaks to our children of the respect, the commitment and the hope that we have for the future of British Columbia for generations to come.

J. Reid: Mr. Speaker, I am so proud and delighted to be standing in this House in February 2004 to speak to this budget. I think back on when I ran for election and won the by-election in 1998 and why I did that — why I wanted to be part of the process in British Columbia, why I wanted to work towards being in government. Then, in the election of 2001, what it was that I was saying to the constituents and what it was that I felt about British Columbia that has brought me to this moment and to this incredible privilege, I feel — to be here and be representing the constituency of Nanaimo-Parksville….

I remember very clearly the frustration in the province in those years of an economy in decline. I remember the frustration, as a small business person myself, of an unresponsive government which didn't seem to get it that it was small business that was the foundation for growth, the foundation for jobs, the foundation for a strong society. Government spending was undisciplined. Debt was accumulating with no end in sight. We all knew people who were leaving British Columbia to find jobs someplace else. There was a frustration and a sadness as people we knew were leaving our communities. We were all discouraged — discouraged about the future, discouraged about how British Columbia was going to meet the potential it had and be able to deliver on the hope we all have for our children and for our grandchildren.

I remember what it was I promised to work towards at that time. I promised that I believed in fiscal responsibility on the part of government and that we were going to be disciplined. That's not an easy thing to do. Sometimes people said: "Are you going to be tough enough to do that?" My response to people has been: "Are you going to be tough enough to take it?" Discipline is not just on the part of the government; it's on the part of all the people of British Columbia to join together for a common goal.

We promised to restore investor confidence and the confidence of businesses in British Columbia that their government would respond to them, that their government would care about them and value them. We promised, and I promised, to care for those who are most in need in this province, to care about health care and education, to care about services for people who needed those services and to care about delivering those services in the most cost-effective way — to stretch every single dollar that the taxpayers contribute. I also joined in the promise of streamlining pro-cesses — not eliminating standards but streamlining processes — so we give answers to people who want to

We never said it would be overnight. I certainly never said it would be overnight. We had watched, for many years, the decline. As other provinces in Canada were enjoying prosperity, we in this province were in a decline. It took time from where we had been to where we had gotten to…. It takes time to get yourself back out of that, because people sit and watch. We all do that. That's part of human nature, to say: "Okay. Let's see. Do they deliver on their promises? Do they provide what they say they're going to provide? Let's just watch this." It takes time to change habits.

I remember that in the business world, I used to talk to people who were interested in starting a new business. It takes three years to start a new business. The reason we'd say that is because people are all creatures of habit. Even though you might want to start a furniture store, everyone has already been spending their money at the existing stores and places and catalogues. They're in a habit. It takes time for people to change their habits, change their behaviours and support your endeavour.

I never said it was going to be overnight. I certainly was prepared for working long and working hard, and that's what we have done here in this province. We have rebuilt a foundation.

This budget speaks to that. It is a firm foundation, a fiscal foundation. It is not putting patches on the exterior. That's what I was most concerned with and other people were concerned with as well — that instead of rebuilding a foundation that will provide for the prosperity of the future, you try and make things look good today. You hang some new curtains, put some flowers in the window and pretend everything is better when it's not. What we've done is the hard work — the hard work of restoring a foundation through accountability.

We have service plans for ministries that go for three years, which tell people what the plans are and how they are going to be budgeted for. We work to accountability, and now with this budget — for the first time ever in Canada, a budget according to generally accepted accounting principles…. While the ordinary person might say, "All right. Good. That sounds great," it is hugely significant, because that means that people are able to depend on the numbers we're presenting, are able to depend on the future we're presenting and are able to hold us accountable for that.

I know that because of my own enthusiasm for this, I would love for everyone to agree with me that this is so wonderful and really a very important defining moment for this province. But it is important to quote from other sources as well, because there has been a lot of criticism to say: "Well, what you're doing isn't working in the province." I'm saying it has done exactly what we said it would do. The differences in tax rates, in making this province competitive, are making that result. Again, it's changing the habits; it's influencing people. It takes time for those statistics to come in.

We have two ways of looking at that. We can look at it through outside sources, statistics that come in, and we can look at it anecdotally — what's happening in our own community. I would like to refer to those two things and to start off by mentioning some of the outside sources that say it is changing in British Columbia. People are having greater confidence, and people do want to invest in British Columbia.

We've noticed housing starts are up. Anecdotally, I'm sure, in every one of our communities we can say that, but it's really important to notice this is a provincewide phenomenon. We can look at the building permits. Again, I will refer to it when I talk to my own community, but all across British Columbia the building permits are growing at a phenomenal rate.

The jobs. We have more jobs, and as the previous speakers have said, it's not government creating jobs. Those aren't jobs that are sustainable. It's an atmosphere in British Columbia where people want to move here with their businesses, where they believe in what's going on, where they believe in the future. It's small businesses and large businesses that are creating those jobs. There has been very large growth in employment — already another thousand new jobs in January in this year. That's very, very powerful and very, very important. That is from Stats Canada. That's not us saying, "Aren't we great?" though I think we're doing a fine job. But it is coming from other sources. It's Scotiabank and TD Bank saying they believe there is confidence in British Columbia, that we're poised to grow and we're entering that growth phase.

One of the statistics I just love, because it means so much to me personally, is that more people are moving to British Columbia than in the last six years. They're moving back. They're moving back because there are jobs here, and that means the families and the children are moving back. Again, that's from B.C. Stats.

Business incorporations are increasing — another good sign that there is confidence in British Columbia and confidence that people want to live and work here. They want to invest here.

We have had many difficulties these last years, but nobody needs to use excuses. Certainly, I'd like to suggest to people that they should sometimes reflect: if the NDP had won the last election, what on earth would they have done when we saw the tragedy of September 11, when we had to go through the forest fire season, when we had to go through the droughts, through the floods, with the outbreak of SARS, with BSE?

In spite of all these factors, we're doing well here in British Columbia. We're not using those as excuses, because we were able to apply discipline to the parameters of government so that no matter what happens we can stay our course. We can take those things in our stride and work together as a province with a common goal, with a common focus, with a common

I would like to take a few minutes to talk about my communities that I represent on Vancouver Island — north Nanaimo, Lantzville, Nanoose, Parksville — and to look at what they're saying in those communities about how things are changing for them and changing for the positive. I'd just like to read a quote from the mayor of Parksville. This is a message on the city website, a message from Randy Longmuir, the mayor:

There is an excitement in the community that after a long time of no growth and very slow growth, once again things are happening; things are moving. The Island Hall development proposal is valued at $50 million. There is another mall proposed across from Wembley Mall. There is another mall adjacent to Thrifty Foods that is now under construction.

J. Reid: This is all just happening in Parksville. It's a busy community. It's a community where new businesses are locating and older businesses are finding relief. People I'm talking to say they haven't been so busy for years and years, and finally they're hiring new people. This is what I want to see from my community. This is why I'm proud to be here today and proud to represent this government.

When we look at the broader community in Vancouver Island, central Vancouver Island, another exciting aspect is the film industry. This is a new industry for Vancouver Island, but the results are actually quite amazing. The production budgets on Vancouver Island for 2002, and growing…. Some $23.5 million was spent on Vancouver Island in 2002.

I met with a representative from the Vancouver Island Film Association and talked about the different projects, the exciting projects — what had been done in Campbell River and what's been done on the Vancouver Island new highway, because this is a different site and people are locating there. It is something the province doesn't collect money from. It doesn't cost us anything, because the production companies pay all the costs, but there are millions and millions of dollars that go into local communities because of this. We're proud to see that happen, proud to see that we're recognized around the world as a place to come and do business.

In looking at Nanoose and looking at the developments there, there are other exciting initiatives underway in that development in the Lantzville area. Lantzville is newly incorporated, and there is a new excitement about what that means for the people. As we move our attention further into north Nanaimo, again, there has been more development, more growth. It has become a magnet for all over Vancouver Island in a very healthy way.

I just want to read again from the people of Nanaimo what they're saying about the activity in Nanaimo. This is from the Economic Development Group. The executive director, Jerry Pink, has written this article about why people move to Nanaimo. I'm just going to quote from this because I think it brings to life those real stories. These are some stories that Dave Hammond, a local realtor, has shared. It says:

Nanaimo is an incredible city. It is a harbour city; it's beautiful. It is close to, of course, all the water activities. It is also a source for tourism, incredibly scenic and, of course, one of the best climates there is in British Columbia. Just to talk to another client…. Another of Dave's clients moved his family to Nanaimo to take a job in a local accounting firm. He had been commuting to Vancouver from the Fraser Valley for years and was exhausted. When he bought his home here, he timed his commute to the office — ten minutes.

There are people from all over Canada who are moving to Nanaimo to work, as well as moving here to retire. The story goes on, talking about a retired engineer from Ontario, a veterinarian who has come here to Nanaimo to practise, and just all the reasons why they love Nanaimo.

Nanaimo is vibrant. This area and part of the Vancouver Island area is a vibrant community. It's exciting to be there. As I say, it's exciting to look at the development and say that things are moving in the right direction, and we have proof of that. So when people try to criticize this government and say that our actions aren't working, I know from the communities I represent that they are working. They are delivering the results. This balanced budget is part of the promises that we made and part of what we're delivering on.

I could go on talking about so much else that's going on in Nanaimo and on Vancouver Island. A Nanaimo seniors village, a licensed 90-bed senior care facility, is under construction in north Nanaimo. Malaspina University College is expanding its library. International Composting Corporation is building a facility. The conference centre we're still working on, in Nanaimo, to see it delivered. There is a lot of activity and a lot of industrial activity.

And talking about the industries, I just wanted to mention, as well, the interest…. We had concern — and

we have concern, ongoing concern — on Vancouver Island for our power needs. We're not self-sufficient in power. We import power, and we need to be aware of the energy grid and how we're going to make sure our needs are supplied. There was a proposal for a power facility in Nanaimo at Duke Point, and there was a requirement that B.C. Hydro put in a call for proposals to see what are the most dependable, low-cost sustainable power sources that could be developed. There were 23 bidders who responded to that call — so 23 businesses, corporations, entities that want to invest in Vancouver Island, that want to invest and want to help us find the best low-cost dependable power capacity.

Again, there is this excitement that people have noticed British Columbia, have said this is a place that is a good place to do business. What does that mean? That means healthy communities. It means jobs for the people. It means dollars for taxes that supply health care, that supply education, that supply all those services we so believe in as British Columbians.

We have activity going on. We've had investment — major investment — in the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, which has finally been recognized as a regional referral centre. I can remember back in 1998 talking with people in the constituency who had to come to Victoria for kidney dialysis. If you've talked to people who aren't in a healthy state to begin with, that travel was very, very hard on them and their families. Now we have been able to expand the kidney dialysis services in Nanaimo, and it's one thing I'm not hearing about because it's been taken care of. It's so wonderful to see that these things are happening, as well as the development in Nanaimo in the hospital with regard to the scans, MRI, new surgical units and expanded care for mother and infants — all that work that's going on. I know that in my community they have been well served, and there are good things happening in the communities.

I'm not wanting to suggest for a moment that our problems are solved. Certainly, just as human beings, we will never solve all our problems because we're always interested in finding new ways of doing things. But we have gained huge ground. I was absolutely astonished when I saw the document that had been released by a group the NDP support, talking about an alternative budget and talking about a way of meeting the needs of people by drastically raising taxes. After all the work we have done to make ourselves competitive tax-wise in this province and to make sure that we are as attractive as other jurisdictions, to suggest that we would want to go backwards…. I don't know. Who wants to go backwards? I cannot understand why anybody would want to go backwards and become uncompetitive.

I think: well, who are those people that would be hard hit by that kind of a budget? It would be the doctors that we have worked so hard to retain in B.C. It would be the nurses. Now 90 percent of the nurses trained in B.C. stay in B.C. They're the ones that would be hard hit. It would be the teachers that we want to retain in B.C. They're the ones that would be hard hit. It would be the seniors on fixed incomes. Anybody that would be making more than $32,000 a year would be hit by provincial income tax increases of more than 40 percent. I hear from the seniors in my community. I care about the seniors in my community. There is no way I could ever condone those kinds of increases, because I know the kind of impact it would have on those real people — the people that I work with and the people that I represent.

High-tech. Vancouver Island is a huge source of high-tech activity. Why would we want to drive those people out of this province? I just cannot understand how anybody could think that would be a solution to our problems. Certainly, we need to find ways of being able to address the funding for health care, and it is being addressed in this budget. It is being addressed, and we can look forward and see how those dollars will be flowing into the health care budget, into education, into the social services. Having a balanced budget means that we have more choices for the future, more opportunity to make those decisions.

We're being responsible. That's something I campaigned on and I feel very strongly about. I've got four children, and now I've got four grandchildren. I am very concerned that we would be responsible for the debt we have accumulated. Why would I expect my children and grandchildren to pay for something I refuse to pay for, though I have consumed the services? I don't believe that's responsible. I don't believe most people in British Columbia think that's responsible.

That's why I am so proud to stand here in this House today to speak to this budget. The leadership of the Premier of this province has gotten us here. The firm hand of the Finance minister has guided us through this process. It is not easy, but it's disciplined and it's right. I believe this is what the people of the province want. I believe this is what the people of my constituency want. This is what I represented to them and what I promised to them, and I am so proud to be delivering it to them in this budget.

Hon. G. Bruce: In the gallery today is a grade 5 class from St. Margaret's School, here in Victoria, with their teacher, Mrs. McKinnon. I would like the House to make them all feel very welcome.

I would also like to note that the Premier asked me to pass on his welcome to the precincts here. Of course, there was a young student whose name is Tedi Ver-

meulen. I hope I have pronounced that properly. She met the Premier in the heliport in Vancouver in November of last year. Knowing she was coming to the House, she had e-mailed him and hoped he would be here today to welcome them all personally. Unfortunately, he is off through the province, meeting with some people, but he wanted me to pass that on specifically to Tedi. To all of you, welcome here to the House in Victoria.

L. Mayencourt: It is an honour to stand here today to speak to the budget, the balanced budget for 2004-05. This is a very wonderful opportunity to come to this Legislature to represent people in my community. I know that all members here take our jobs very, very seriously. The member for Nanaimo-Parksville was speaking just a few moments ago with such passion about how much this means to her to be able to come and fulfil the job she took on a few years ago.

It is also very important for me and important for all of the other members to take a look at where we have come from and where we are headed. This budget tells us very firmly the direction this government has taken and chosen to move forward on, and it tells us what we can expect from our government in the following two years as well.

That is a very substantial improvement over previous governments, because I think in years past there have been problems in that municipalities, school districts and community organizations or whatever have not had the opportunity to know with any kind of certainty what kind of direction the government is going in. With our commitment to three-year rolling service plans and three-year budgets, we have given our communities a better understanding of the directions that we hope to take and the goals we have before us.

None has been more important, I think, than the commitments that we made in the election in 2001. In 2001 we had a document called the New Era document produced. In that document there were 201 individual promises that we made to the citizens of British Columbia. Those citizens took those promises and looked at them.

We told them this was a direction we wanted to head in. We told them these were the things that we believed were what the people of British Columbia were calling out for, were crying out for — for leadership, for fiscal prudence, for compassionate conservatism, for a direction that was open and accountable to people of this province.

That document is in the hands of many, many members of this House. It's in the hands of many of the citizens that voted for us. Constantly during the campaign the Premier asked us to hang on to the new era, hang onto the New Era document. Keep it with you; keep it under your pillow. Keep it somewhere safe, because we want you to be able to look at this document in May of 2005 and see if we met our commitments.

I'm so proud, Mr. Speaker, because I know from my reckoning, from looking at that document on a regular basis — as all members of this House do — that we have fulfilled over 90 percent of the commitments we made in the new era. We made commitments that we have followed through on. We started with the tax cuts, we started with working on the regulatory burden for British Columbians, and we started on building a new sense of hope in this province.

I hope that many, many British Columbians will be able to take that document and look at it in May of 2005, because it is there that we set a direction that we wanted to head out on and that the people of British Columbia overwhelmingly supported. They asked us to go forward with our plan. This plan has been very, very difficult for all members of this Legislature and for many of the citizens of British Columbia to follow through on. But it is the right plan, as the member for Nanaimo-Parksville stated earlier. It is the right thing to do. It is important that when politicians stand up and tell you they're going to take a certain course, a certain direction, they will have the courage to follow through on those commitments.

The 1990s in British Columbia were truly a decade of decline. I saw in my own community of Vancouver many, many examples of a government that had lost its way, lost its ability to be straightforward and tell people what directions they wanted to move in, made announcements about plans they were never going to follow through on and made campaign promises that they could not keep.

I'm so proud that our government, when it was elected, decided we would do something much, much better for all British Columbians. We would stand by each and every one of those commitments. Though we have 10 percent of those commitments to meet yet, I am confident that we will be able to do them in the next 16 months.

One of the promises the Premier made was that he was going to turn things around in this province. He was going to build a better foundation for a brighter future for all British Columbians. The balanced budget in 2004 is building on our successes to develop and build and deliver on a sustainable future that brings out the very best in British Columbians. Today is the day we turn the corner, where we can see that as great as this province has been, as great as it is today, the best of British Columbia is yet to come.

Last year was a very tough year. Many members have spoken about it. We were faced with SARS. We were faced with BSE, or mad cow disease. We had forest fires in the Okanagan, floods in the Squamish regions and changes in equalization payments from the federal government that amounted to over $1 billion in additional and unexpected costs. We are still on track to bring in, in this fiscal year, a budget that is $590 million better than the target set in last year's budget.

It was good management that brought us to this state. It was good management on the part of the Finance minister and on the part of the Premier, but it

was also on the part of each and every member of this Legislature, because it required discipline and it required teamwork. It was amazing to see how, when we were faced with those very difficult decisions — where we looked at things that might hurt our riding, things that might impact something we really believed in — all members took the higher road. All members realized that yes, they were elected in their individual ridings, but they were elected to the provincial Legislature. They were elected to come here and do the very best they could not just for their riding but also for all British Columbians. I am very proud of the members that sit with me in this caucus, in this Legislature, for the way they approached these very challenging and difficult choices and did what was right for British Columbians — followed through on the commitments we made in 2001 and did what is right.

We have heard many speakers today and in days past talk about the cost of those choices. They were gut-wrenching. We had to do things to get this province back in shape that really hurt us. They were difficult choices. They were things we would rather not have done, but we had to do them because we had to get back on track. We had to face the fact that our children and our grandchildren should not be paying for services that we consume today. We had to face the fact that we had to deal with an overwhelming structural deficit in our budget.

Every week I leave from Coal Harbour and fly out to come here to this Legislature. Every week I fly over the top of the fast ferries. Now, forgive me for bringing this up again, but that previous government spent $450 million on boats that don't float. Forgive me for criticizing the previous government for wasting half a billion dollars on Skeena Cellulose. That billion dollars would have done so much for our province, would have provided so many child care spaces, would have provided so many services to women and vulnerable citizens in our province.

When I walk the streets of my riding and walk through the downtown east side, it burns me. It burns a hole in my heart to think of the billion dollars we wasted on frivolous and silly ideas that were just designed to get a member elected in one riding. The fast ferry fiasco, Skeena Cellulose, the other things we have that the previous government did, brought untold misery to so many people in this province. It was left to us to deal with this structural deficit left for us by the previous government.

I am glad we were able to move forward with the plan we had in place to ensure that all British Columbians were treated fairly and equally. The members of this House have done a good job of seeing to it that we brought our house in order, and I'm so proud that we have a balanced budget today.

I spoke the other day about Carole James's budget that was put forward through the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. There was a really important point in that whole budget thing. It was this. They compared our projections of revenue from taxpayers of $4.9 billion in personal income tax, and in their budget it was $7.8 billion. That's an enormous difference in the way we approach government. That's an enormous difference in the way we view our responsibilities to British Columbians. They projected budget deficits for the next six years.

This was very tough work to get the budget under control, to be in the position we are in today where we are going to balance this budget in this fiscal year. This is not the time to turn around and go backwards to the days of despair that were led by the previous government. This is a time for us to boldly go forward, to boldly embrace the directions we have laid out for all British Columbians year after year after year in our three-year service plans, in our three-year rolling budgets.

We have told people what we hope to accomplish, what we mean to spend and how we expect to be able to do that. In each and every year we have done better than we've projected. In each and every year we have accomplished more than we set out to do because we had a firm plan, because we had firm leadership and because we had dedicated members in this Legislature that were thinking of their province, thinking of the people that we came here to serve.

I am particularly proud of some of the accomplishments we have made in helping people that are in need. For example, for people that are on disability we have increased the gas tax refund for those individuals. We know they have to spend a little bit more in travelling to doctors and what have you, so we've increased that for those people with disabilities.

We're protecting seniors with the homeowner grant. Maybe a senior has a house they bought in Kerrisdale for $30,000 back in 1950 or so, and it has grown in value, but those people still need that homeowner grant. We have increased that so that people will still be able to receive the benefit. That means that seniors are going to continue to receive the homeowner grant.

I'm also proud that the Ministry of Children and Family Development has had a lift of $120 million in its budget and more than $115 million in the next two years as well. There is nothing more valuable to me in my riding, to me in my province, to the other members of this House than the children we work to protect and look after. The Ministry of Children and Family Development is going through some changes in its governance structure and going through some changes in the way we approach the protection of children in our province, and we recognize that that change requires money. We have made a commitment to spend that money to make sure we do the very best we can for children throughout this province.

As the Minister of Human Resources stated a little earlier, I am also delighted that we were able to accommodate an increase of a further $80 million a year for the Ministry of Human Resources. This is an important contribution to those who are most vulnerable in our communities.

I support time limits for welfare. I think that is a good idea. But I also recognize there are some folks

that fall through the cracks. There are some who are not able to work because of a disability, because of a small child at home, because of some inability to get to work because of a physical disability or perhaps a mental illness or what have you.

We made a promise to British Columbians that we would reform the welfare system, and we have done that. But we have also recognized that there are folks in this province that require the assistance of the state. We are here to provide that as it is needed for those most vulnerable, and I'm proud of that.

I'm also proud of the things we've done on the business side of things. It's true that we reduced corporate taxes in British Columbia. It's true that we reduced taxes for personal income taxes. It's true that we went about cutting regulations. I want to tell you why, Mr. Speaker, and it's as simple as walking down any street in Vancouver-Burrard. It is because we have reignited the interest in coming to British Columbia, in being in our communities. It is demonstrated by over half a billion dollars of development that has been happening in my constituency in each and every year we have been in government.

That is new people coming to our province — coming back from Alberta, coming back from Saskatoon, coming back from Ontario — because they believe in our province. They see us as a wonderful centre, a place to come and raise their family and build a life for themselves and for their children. When I walk down the streets of Vancouver-Burrard and see that development, I see all those families moving in, I see the young urban professionals moving in, and I know that my city and my province are thriving. It is beginning to show my community just how valuable this change in course has been for all of us.

Those buildings don't go up by themselves; they go up with good, hard-working labour. They go up with contractors that are employing people in my community — plumbers, electricians, tradespeople, cabinetmakers. All of those individuals have seen a boom in their industries. We see this ongoing development not just in Vancouver-Burrard but across our province. We see it in areas in Kelowna; we see it in Surrey; we see it in all kinds of communities in British Columbia. That development and that growth have been good for us. Those are good, well-paying jobs that have been delivered to British Columbians, and I look forward to seeing more of those.

There is a great deal of hope in our province when it comes to offshore oil and gas. I have travelled the province and been in the northwest of this province. I travelled with a….

L. Mayencourt: I have been to the northeast. They're doing pretty good on oil and gas as well — my apologies to the member for Peace River South.

The important thing is that we've gone out and talked with people in British Columbia, and they see potential for great resource development in our communities, resource development that will help communities like Prince Rupert, Kitkatla and Kitimat — all the folks up there who have the opportunity to build a better future for themselves. That part of the province has had a tough go of it. I've travelled to Prince Rupert many times, and it's caused me a great deal of sadness to see some of the huge opportunities untapped in that part of the province. We have opportunities there. I am convinced that we can do so in an environmentally friendly way, and I believe it will bring great hope to that region.

I'm also glad about some of the expansion to the international financial business program. The IFC, International Financial Centre, is located in my riding of Vancouver-Burrard. I've had many meetings with Bob Fairweather and worked with the Minister of Competition, Science and Enterprise and now with the Minister of Small Business and Economic Development to see if we can absolutely bring some of that potential back into British Columbia. There are only two centres in Canada that have had the opportunity we have: Vancouver and Montreal. Montreal seized that opportunity. They seized that opportunity many years ago, and they have built a huge industry there on the financial services end of things.

That opportunity now sits before us with this budget, because we have increased the ability of people to become involved in that. The list of activities that will qualify for tax refunds under the program are expanded, effective September 1, so corporations carrying on business in international financial activities are eligible for refunds in areas including treasury functions, back-office operations, TV and film distribution, and one-sided foreign exchange transactions. This has been very much applauded by the International Financial Centre and by the people of this province that know we have great opportunity ahead of us. This is an opportunity to bring capital to our province — capital that can be used to invest in business here and capital that can create jobs for British Columbians.

Mr. Speaker, I am also proud of some of the accomplishments in the past few years that we've been able to make in my riding of Vancouver-Burrard. None of those has been more important to me than the housing programs we have initiated under this government to ensure that those folks who are vulnerable, who are disabled, who are seniors have an opportunity to have good-quality housing. We've worked with the city of Vancouver. In fact, we almost gave them the Woodwards Building…. Well, we gave it to them for $5 million, which meant that we gave them $15 million. We made a commitment that as soon as they get around to building and working on that, they will have 100 subsidized units there.

We opened the Dr. Peter Centre, a very important facility in my riding. Our government contributed many, many millions of dollars to ensure that people living with AIDS would have a hospice in their com-

munity that would respond to their needs, that would be there for their final days.

We've developed the Mole Hill development. It's a heritage site. There is something like 27 homes that have been redeveloped. They're single-family homes, and they've been redeveloped as affordable housing units for people in my community.

We've done Yaletown Mews. It's one of the most beautiful developments I've seen. It's a non-profit society. It offers 60 apartment units for various income levels and for families. We've worked with St. James Community Service to ensure they can provide homes for the homeless, space for social services, homes for women that are leaving abusive relationships.

We have created new, affordable rental units down in Coal Harbour. I have a friend in that development, Ji-Won Park, who is the young girl beaten in Stanley Park and left permanently disabled. She lives in that development. It's a wonderful development. It's designed to help families, and it certainly helps Ji-Won and her family.

We have done a lot of work on issues of early childhood development and day care, and a lot of that has happened in my riding. We got an out-of-school transition funding program for Little Rae Kids Club. That was $28,000. For the YMCA we were able to fund the development of their new centre at $553,000. The funding assistance program for families at Little Rae's totals $57,000. Mole Hill Montessori got $12,300. Pooh Corner Daycare Society got $23,000. The Catholic Independent Schools of Vancouver got $1,300. The Lower Mainland Purpose Society for Youth and Families got $101,000, and the YWCA got $167,000.

We have in my community a new agency called PEERS. It is to deal with some of the people that are in the sex trade. It is a very important program that has started up. I'm very proud that our government has supported them in employment programs for women and young men that are in the sex trade, to ensure they can leave that life and be able to move on to a better life. The grant for that was $530,000.

We've put $286,000 into the Immigrant Services Society. They do important work in our community. We have supported a new-start program with the Vancouver Eastside Educational Enrichment Society to the tune of $662,000.

I was reading my local paper the other day, and there was a comment in it about a community safety meeting, which I happened to attend. It was an editorial comment, and it was in Xtra West. Xtra West is a newspaper that's really targeted at the gay community. It was talking about the four-pillars approach, and it said that we're doing one pillar but not the other three, and that it is time for the provincial government to come up with the money for that.

Mr. Speaker, in last year's budget we provided $10 million to the Vancouver agreement.. In last year's budget we provided an additional $3 million in employment programs for the Vancouver agreement. That money was committed and given to the Vancouver agreement to put it to work. So I just want to correct the record for Xtra West and for the people who have read that. This government has put $13 million into the Vancouver agreement in the last fiscal year. We will continue to support and work with Vancouver city council and with the federal government to ensure that the objectives of the Vancouver agreement are met.

We've done very much in this past year to help those people who live in that neighbourhood, and we're continuing to do that. We need to work as a group to ensure that those dollars get to the agencies that need those funds to run their programs so they can provide employment training, so that they can upgrade and fix up buildings like the SROs in our communities. That's really what has to happen, so I'm very proud we already put $13 million into it last year. I'm also proud that the federal government put $10 million into it. Between the three levels of government, we put in $23 million last year for the Vancouver agreement. That is very generous. That does not count the other supports that we have in the city of Vancouver.

Last week I did a tally. I wanted to find out how much we contributed to social service agencies in Vancouver — just the city of Vancouver. There were over $2 billion in community supports to community groups in the city of Vancouver. That's a very impressive figure as far as I'm concerned, and it did not include grants that community groups received through the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General through gaming grants. It did not include the $13 million from the Vancouver agreement.

We made a huge commitment to the city of Vancouver, to the social service agencies, to ensure that they have dollars to get their work done. We'll continue to do that kind of work with the city of Vancouver, with the social service agencies. We need a cooperative arrangement between the three levels of government in Vancouver. We need everybody to buck up. We need everyone to get involved in supporting societies that do important work in our community. That means the feds; that means the city; that means the province.

I'm proud of the things we've been able to accomplish in Vancouver-Burrard, and in Vancouver as a city as well, but also throughout our entire province. We've done a lot in the last few years to ensure that all people in British Columbia know that they are valued. We've done a lot to ensure that those people know that we care about their communities, we care about their schools, we care about their children and we care about safety.

I look forward to this session of parliament, because in this Legislature we will be moving forward with a number of initiatives that will make a huge difference in British Columbia. We will be fulfilling the other promises that we made in New Era, and we will be fulfilling our commitment to British Columbians to not throw all of our expenses on the backs of our children and our children's children. We'll be doing that with the dollars that we are able to collect here in British Columbia today. We'll be doing the work that we

can, and we will move forward to protect the citizens of British Columbia and ensure that each and every one of us has an opportunity to succeed, live a successful life and be part of a greater society in British Columbia.

Hon. R. Thorpe: It's certainly a pleasure to rise in the House today to speak and — let me be very clear — to speak in favour of this budget.

Before I get into the details of the budget, let me first say once again what a pleasure it is for me to represent my constituents from Okanagan-Westside. As one level of government, I think it is important that we all realize there's only one taxpayer, and taxpayers actually expect all levels of government to work together.

I'm very, very fortunate in my riding to have the cooperation of and a good working relationship with the Summerland council — which I'm very appreciative of — the Peachland council, the Central Okanagan regional district and in particular the three regional directors who represent the Westside: Aaron Dinwoodie, Len Novakowski and David Knowles. Looking at the federal side, I work closely with the federal MP, Stockwell Day, and also Senator Ross Fitzpatrick. Of course the Westbank first nations, under the leadership of Chief Robert Louie and his councillor, are also very, very good to work with. This is about all levels working together, and quite frankly, I believe that is what taxpayers want from their elected officials.

In the context of our budget that we have before us for debate, I thought it was important to frame the discussion on what we actually told British Columbians we were going to do. We said that it was going to be a new era for British Columbia. Under the leadership of our Premier, we said it would be a vision for hope and prosperity for the next decade and beyond. I would just like to reflect for a few moments.

When we talked about a new era, we talked about a new era of accountability. What did we say that was important to us, and what have we done? We said that we would pass real balanced-budget legislation to make balanced budgets mandatory by our third full budget and to hold all ministers individually accountable. This budget does that. It does it going forward.

We said that we would pass real truth-in-budgeting legislation that ensures that all provincial revenues and finances are fully accurate and honestly reported under generally accepted accounting principles. We have done that. We are the only jurisdiction in Canada that now follows generally accepted accounting principles for government finances.

When we embarked on our journey of a new era and a new vision of hope and prosperity for British Columbians, we said that while we had to work very, very hard at getting our fiscal house in order, we committed that we would balance the budget without cutting funding to health care and education. Again, this budget, which I will be discussing a little bit later, does that. In fact, we have enhanced funding for health care. We have enhanced funding for K-to-12. We have enhanced funding for post-secondary education. And of course, we have a balanced budget for this year and for the next two years in our rolling three-year budgets.

We also said that we would have fixed budget dates, and of course we've put that in place. We said that in our new era of hope and prosperity there would be a new era of higher paycheques for British Columbians. So what have we done in that area? What did we say we would do? We said we would introduce a dramatic cut in personal income tax for hard-working British Columbians, so that they actually could make the choices. And they should be able to make the choices, because it is their hard-earned money. We did that within our first 90 days.

We said that we would cut the base income tax rate and would have the lowest rate of any jurisdiction in Canada for those having an income of $60,000 or less. In fact, we have that.

We also said that we would not cut funding to health care and education. I think it's important to keep emphasizing what we said we would do and in fact what we've done under the leadership of our Premier in our new era of hope and prosperity.

We said that there would be a new era of prosperity and that we would eliminate all government subsidies to businesses that give some firms an unfair advantage over their competitors in British Columbia. In fact, I had the privilege to introduce such legislation that ended subsidies to business in British Columbia.

We said that we were embarking on a task of cutting red tape by one-third and that we would do that within our first three years of government. To date, we have cut 90,000 regulations in the province of British Columbia. We are certainly on track to achieve that goal.

We also said we would aggressively support and champion British Columbia's bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. In fact, under the leadership and full participation of our Premier, on July 2 the team that worked so hard to achieve the gold medal — the first gold medal, and that was securing the 2010 Olympics — was done…. It was announced in Prague and also announced throughout many, many communities in British Columbia.

We also said in our new era that there would be a new era for students, that we would restore education as an essential service under the Labour Code to ensure that no child's right to an education is denied during school strikes and lockouts. We've done that. We said that we would devote more time and each education dollar to improving the quality of education and making sure that the student was the number one priority and that there would be less bureaucracy. We've done that. We also said that we would give school districts multi-year funding envelopes to improve long-term education planning, and we've done that. We also said we would eliminate the PST on basic school supplies purchased by parent advisory councils, and we've done that.

We said that in a new era of advanced education, we would double the number of graduates in computer science and in electrical and computer engineering

within five years, and we are doing that. We also said, as we move to making sure that British Columbia is the destination of choice for high-tech and biotech industries, that we would establish a leading-edge endowment fund. In fact, we've done that, and that's well underway. We also said that we would enhance our on-line education abilities throughout British Columbia, and we've done that.

We also said that we would commit to doubling the number of medical school graduates over the next five years, and I note that just a week or so ago the first students arrived in Prince George in our rural northern program. That is good news for all British Columbia, for the north and for Prince George.

With respect to health, we said that we must have a new era of health planning. In British Columbia we committed to ensure that British Columbia's health care is universal, accessible, portable, comprehensive and publicly administered — consistent with the five principles of the Canada Health Act. We are doing that here in British Columbia. We said that we had to move to multi-year planning, that we had to identify the long-term goals of health care, that health care was simply not sustainable. Under the leadership of our Premier, we are moving that and have moved that to the national agenda and are moving forward.

We also said that the health budget, an overall budget of $9.3 billion, would be maintained. In fact, Mr. Speaker, as you know and everyone in this House knows, our government has increased funding on health care by $2 billion to date, and by the year 2006-07 we will have increased it by $3 billion, or 36 percent. We also said that it was important to fully fund and implement a $125 million mental health initiative — one that the members over there had announced but failed to fund, obviously failed to implement. Our government has done that.

We also said that we were going to move away from a system that was eating more and more dollars in administration, with 52 health districts throughout British Columbia — to six regional health districts — and, by doing that, take the millions and millions of dollars that we have found in those efficiencies and direct those to where they should be directed, and that is to the patients.

So we are doing very, very well here in British Columbia. We are moving forward. We are bringing out the best here in British Columbia. You know, members over there will speak and, from time to time, rant and rave and say that British Columbia is not going forward. Well, there is a scoreboard we should all look at from time to time. It's called jobs. How is British Columbia doing in job creation? I'm talking about the private sector here, throughout all regions of British Columbia, creating jobs. In the two years that ended December 2003, British Columbia has created 154,000 new jobs — the highest increase in Canada. In fact, 40 percent of all of the jobs created in Canada in that two-year period have been created right here in British Columbia. That is the fact, and it shows that British Columbia has turned the corner and is moving forward. In fact, Mr. Speaker, the Thompson-Okanagan region — which I know you're familiar with, and I'm familiar with — last year led the province in job creation year over year — a 9.4 percent increase, just under 20,000 new jobs created in the Thompson-Okanagan.

We also said that in bringing out the best of British Columbia, we would focus on introducing fair and balanced labour laws. We've done that. We are now seeing the investment increase and improve in British Columbia. We are seeing small business operators in British Columbia demonstrate, through their research and their studies, that small business in British Columbia now has the highest business confidence of any jurisdiction in all of Canada. That is good news. We have also seen the investment intentions move from number ten under the former administration of the NDP to number three now in all of Canada. We're not satisfied to be number three. We're going to continue to work hard and to move up that ladder.

Our taxation code, from a personal perspective, needed to be overhauled dramatically. We actually needed to make sure that we were rewarding those who worked so hard here in British Columbia, all the way through the spectrum. What did we do? We made sure that British Columbians making $60,000 or less have the lowest personal tax rate of any jurisdiction in Canada. We also have the second-lowest marginal tax rate in Canada for above $60,000, only second to Alberta.

Tremendous things and new things are happening in British Columbia. We are moving forward. We are bringing out the best in British Columbia. Now we look to the future to bring out even greater opportunity, as we all work hard to bring out the best in British Columbia.

Let me just talk for a second here about opening up British Columbia. I'm talking about transportation, which is so important to all parts of British Columbia. In particular, I want to focus on Okanagan-Westside. Our government, under the leadership of our Premier, has committed to building a new Okanagan bridge. Many governments have talked about it, but we have actually committed and are now working with the city of Kelowna and the Westbank first nation to make that a reality. It's one that we know is going to happen. We know that the parties are all interested, and we know that everyone is going to work together.

Just this past week, Monday of this week, in my own riding of Okanagan-Westside we announced the tendering of just under five kilometres of highway work to four-lane Highway 97 between Summerland and Peachland. Again, that has been talked about in my riding in British Columbia for 15 years. Now it is actually happening and is going to bring out the best in British Columbia.

As I said to my constituents at the time, this is the beginning, not the end. We will continue to work hard to make sure that the road is upgraded, that four-laning takes place as the fiscal plan allows. We will make sure that we have safety as our primary focus. We will work together with the regional district, with

the Ministry of Transportation and with the councils of Summerland and Peachland to make sure that the road is widened, straightened and corrected in the areas that it has to be done.

The other area that I'll touch on just briefly is the importance of the forest sector to Okanagan-Westside and, in fact, to British Columbia. We are very blessed to have companies like Riverside, Gorman Bros., the Westbank first nation, plus smaller operators working in our riding. They are all working together with the communities and with the forest workers to ensure that they can move forward in a system that is going to continue to show prosperity for all British Columbians.

I note the time here, and I'm just getting started in my speech. I'd like to reserve my time to speak after, to finish my speech. Noting the time, I would move adjournment of this debate.

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