2009 Legislative Session: First Session, 39th Parliament
HANSARD

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

official report of

Debates of the Legislative Assembly

(hansard)

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Afternoon Sitting

Volume 1, Number 5

[ Page 65 ]

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2009

The House met at 1:33 p.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Tributes

GARY DOER

Hon. G. Campbell: Hon. Speaker, today we heard that a truly great Canadian public servant had decided to step down as leader of his province, Manitoba. Premier Gary Doer of Manitoba has not just been a great Premier for his province. He's been a great Canadian, and he's been a great friend to British Columbia.

When we launched our new relationship initiative, he was one of the Premiers at the lead of that with us as we tried to build a national consensus across the 14 jurisdictions in Canada. He joined British Columbia in the western climate initiative as we launched our initiative to deal with the global challenges of climate change. He's been a leader who has embraced fully the idea of open trade amongst Canadians, free flow of goods and Canadians across this great country of ours.

I think that today it's appropriate for us in the province of British Columbia to recognize his leadership, his service to the country, and to wish Premier Doer and his family all the best in their future endeavours. I'm sure that he will remain committed to public life, as he has all of his life, since 1986, as a representative in the province of Manitoba.

I thought that on behalf of all of us, it would be great for you to send him a note saying that we appreciate the service to his province, to his country and the partnership he's had with British Columbia.

C. James: Mr. Speaker, I'd like to add to the words of the Premier to express appreciation to Premier Doer for his service, as has been said, not only to the province but to all of Canada.

I think that one of the distinctions that Premier Doer has in this country is his ability to bring people together in his province. He really has been known as a leader who has been able to cross over divides to bring people together to work together on behalf of the province. That's extraordinary leadership.

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I certainly am grateful for the personal advice that I have taken from Premier Doer over the years. I thank him, and I certainly wish him and his family well.

I think the Premier is quite right. There is no question that Premier Doer is going to have a place in Canadian history as well as in Manitoba over the years.

ROBERT WOODHEAD

Hon. P. Bell: It is with great sadness that I rise in the House today on the passing of Robert Woodhead. Robert was the helicopter pilot who lost his life protecting the community of Lillooet from the devastating wildfire on August 14.

He was one of more than 4,000 brave men and women who protect our communities on the front lines of our fires across this province. His job required both skill and courage, which he ably demonstrated.

On behalf of the province of British Columbia and the Ministry of Forests and Range, I would like to express our sadness on the passing of Robert Woodhead. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends, who I hope can take some comfort in the deep and sincere appreciation of all British Columbians.

Introductions by Members

L. Krog: I want to recognize in the gallery with us today Rev. Tim Schendel. Accompanying him is my Member of Parliament and his spouse. That's Dr. James Lunney. Regrettably, he is not of the right party, but I welcome him to this House.

He is seeing today how the Members of the Legislative Assembly continue to work through the summer, as opposed to the Members of Parliament.

J. McIntyre: I'd like the members of the House to give a warm welcome to the mayor of Pemberton, Jordan Sturdy. I'm not sure where he is. He's up in the gallery today. I've had the pleasure of working with him over the past four years. He says that he's here to see what really goes on down here in the Legislature.

Mayor Sturdy was re-elected for a second term last November. In his spare time he owns and operates, with his family, the very successful North Arm Farm, which is making a significant mark in the agritourism business here in British Columbia.

Please join me in making him feel very welcome.

S. Fraser: Today in the gallery a good friend of mine is visiting, Dave Thompson. He's here from Parksville. Please join me in making him feel very, very welcome.

Hon. N. Yamamoto: I'd like to introduce a guest, a visitor to B.C., John Sproule. John is the senior policy director for the Institute of Health Economics and a colleague of mine at PNWER, which is the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region, where he serves as chair of the health care working group. In his spare time he's really into theatre.

D. Black: I'm pleased to acknowledge the presence in the House today of visitors from New Westminster. Baj and Nancy Puri are well-known community volunteers
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who support many worthwhile organizations and contribute greatly to the quality of life in our city.

A few years ago Baj was named as the citizen of the year for New Westminster, for recognition of his work on community boards, and he volunteers for city committees as well.

Nancy also serves on city committees, and she puts in endless hours to ensure that New Westminster's May Day celebrations are successfully accomplished each and every year.

Accompanying Baj and Nancy is Iqbal Randhawa, a visitor from India. I ask the House today to join me in welcoming them to our Legislature.

K. Conroy: It gives me a great deal of pleasure to introduce a constituent today. Francisco Canjura is actually a reporter with the Castlegar News. He's a very balanced and excellent reporter. He's here to watch what's happening in the House, and I'd like to ask you to all join me in welcoming him.

P. Pimm: I'd like the House to join me in welcoming my mother and my wife, who are here joining us and seeing what question period brings us.

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G. Coons: I have a couple of friends of mine in the gallery today. Jamie Scott is a friend and colleague from Prince Rupert. He's a teacher with the technology department. With him is Lois Elliot, my spouse and, up to this point in time, my lifelong partner. Please make them welcome.

D. Horne: I'd like you to join with me in welcoming my wife, Larissa, and my daughter Victoria, who are joining us here in the gallery today.

J. Horgan: It's a delight to stand and recognize someone who just ambled in the door unannounced, a former member of this place who struck fear into the hearts of many when he was issuing fines as the Whip of the government caucus in the 1990s. I know the member from Abbotsford recognizes him — Gerard Janssen. Would everyone please make him very, very welcome.

D. Hayer: It gives me great pleasure to introduce three special guests: my good friend Rey Concepcion, who is a very hard-working volunteer in our community, and two of his guests, Cynthia Ramos and Anna Rose Mati-Ong. Would the House please make them very welcome.

Statements
(Standing Order 25B)

MARS WATER BOMBER

S. Fraser: The Mars water bombers are a provincial icon and the pride of the Alberni Valley. While the province chose not to renew the contract this year with the Port Alberni–based Coulson Group for the Mars, they are arguably, sir, the best firefighting tool in the world.

The track record speaks for itself. The Mars have fought over 2,000 wildfires in their 49-year history in British Columbia, making in excess of 4,000 drops. And 65 percent of these fires were controlled in the first day of their deployment, and an additional 20 percent in the next day, the second day, alone.

These amazing aircraft are each capable of scooping up 27,000 litres of water in a single load, and they provide an awesome payload for firefighting power. The modernized Mars, which have been done recently, have the latest state-of-the-art technology, and they are seen as a godsend to communities ravaged by wildfires. No other aircraft can drop a payload that can cover an area of four acres in one drop. The Mars have saved whole subdivisions in their history.

Choosing to focus on the age of the Mars rather than their track record, the province decided against utilizing these — their choice — this year, but the fire service in California had a different idea. Last year the Mars played a key role in attacking and suppressing the massive grass wildfires in California. Those fires forced 500,000 people from their homes. Seeing the amazing results of the Mars in action, the state of California has once again retained the Mars on standby to ensure that California communities have access to the best firefighting protection possible.

The Mars water bombers — a proud piece of B.C. history and a valued life- and community-saving asset for the people of California.

COMMUNITY SPIRIT IN PEMBERTON

J. McIntyre: I rise today to pay tribute to the village of Pemberton, whose residents epitomize the great pioneering spirit of this province. It's a rural town with a population of approximately 2,500 at the northern end of the Sea to Sky corridor, with a lengthy history of farming and logging in one of the most — if not the most — scenic valleys in supernatural B.C.

Village residents live alongside their first nations neighbours of the Lil'wat Nation. They made history with their Winds of Change document that rallied both communities, in light of a tragedy, to work together — to not turn a blind eye but to resolve some of the social ills and problems that impact their joint societies.

They've made progress on a number of fronts, from the success at Signal Hill Elementary School, where principal Pat MacKenzie mastered creating a safe and welcoming environment for a cross-section of aboriginal and non-aboriginal youngsters to grow and thrive; from the great trades program I witnessed at the secondary school, providing both skills training and academic options for the next generation; to the much-needed
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community centre and library and the child care centre, and now the prospect of the construction of seniors housing — all valuable infrastructure to meet the needs of a fast-growing community. A year ago over 80 babies were born.

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All this progress has taken perseverance and sacrifice to bring community dreams to fruition, especially on a small tax base, when the need for public safety essentials, such as diking and wells and wastewater treatment, all have to come first.

So I see active volunteer organizations, such as the Rotary, the Lions society, the chamber of commerce, all contributing significantly to the betterment of the village's quality of life. Community spirit is alive and well — successful annual festivals such as Winterfest, Slow Food Cycle and the unforgettable music festival of summer '08 along with the upcoming torch race events. This is the little town that can. Congratulations to all, and I'm so proud to represent you in Victoria.

Surrey Hospice Society

S. Hammell: In 1986 a psychologist and a group of doctors and nurses recognized there was need for end-of-life care in Surrey. They met around a dining room table, started a charity and then began working out of their homes to provide hospice care. Since then Surrey Hospice has grown to six staff and over 200 volunteers, serving over 2,000 palliative and bereavement clients every year. They provide emotional and spiritual support for individuals and their loved ones as they face life-limiting illness.

The society operates on the belief that no one needs to face a life-threatening illness alone and that no one needs to be alone with their grief.

Marion Brandner, the executive director of Surrey Hospice, told me about a young woman who reached out for help for her daughter. Her dad had been diagnosed with cancer and did not have long to live. This little girl was very close to her daddy, and the mom didn't know how she could ever break the news to her daughter. Mom and daughter received counselling. Then, inevitably, her dad's condition deteriorated. This young daughter came to visit him right after her birthday party. She got into bed with her dad. His eyes were closed, and she went on and on about her party and how she wished he had been there, and while listening to his little girl talk about her wonderful day, her dad slipped away.

When she was told her dad was gone, she didn't fear. Yes, there were tears and sadness but not the terror that can come to a child, as she was prepared.

You can see end-of-life care is such an important part of the spectrum of health care needs. Hospice palliative care is about living fully to the very end of life with dignity and comfort. Surrey Hospice contributes to our community in a meaningful way every single day. I'd like to congratulate the workers.

Canada Line

R. Howard: The new Canada line opened officially on August 17, on budget and 3 1/2 months ahead of schedule. It is a testament to partnerships, government and private sector. Travel between Richmond and Vancouver is now faster and more convenient, and as a direct result, it's easier than ever for people to visit the dynamic and multicultural city of Richmond, which I am proud to call home.

In my riding alone Aberdeen Centre has already seen a significant increase in the number of shoppers. Joey Kwan, Aberdeen's public relations manager, says the number of visitors has increased between 20 and 30 percent since the Canada line opened. She adds that it is now easier for employees to get to work, and that will greatly help them attract and retain staff. Joey sums up the Canada line by saying: "We see a very positive impact, and we are very happy that the Canada line is open."

Another person who is very happy about the Canada line is Uni Cross, who lives in my riding of Richmond Centre and works in Vancouver. Before, it took her about 40 minutes to get to work in the morning, and it took her about an hour and a half to get back from work in the evening. It now takes her 25 minutes from door to door. The Canada line has considerably strengthened Richmond's connections with neighbouring cities, particularly Vancouver, and I know that the benefits of this will be considerable.

RAINBOW TROUT AT LANGFORD LAKE

J. Horgan: Many members will know that I'm a proud resident of southern Vancouver Island. I'm always anxious to stand on my feet in this place and speak about the wonders of my constituency and the people who live there.

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When people think of Juan de Fuca, they think of fishing, and they usually think of big chinooks off of Port Renfrew or the coho and the chum and the pinks as they go back and forth along the coast by Sooke. But today's fish story is a different one. It's a unique story. It started on June 28 with the first annual Langford Loghouse Pub fishing derby held at Langford Lake, in my constituency.

On that day the fish were abundant, but one particular fish, captured by my friend Peter Willing, weighed in at 8 pounds 1 ounce. That's a big rainbow trout. Now, I understand that the rules prohibit me from showing a picture of that fish in this place, but people will know that an eight-pound trout is about that long and about that fat. It's a very, very, very big fish.

An Hon. Member: How long?
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J. Horgan: It's about that long and about that fat.

The interesting thing about this fish story is that it will be immortalized on the walls of the Loghouse Pub. It's at the taxidermist's. It will be there as a reminder to those who are fearful of swimming in Langford Lake because of the Ogopogo-sized rainbows. They'll know that one of the large ones is now gone.

On the day of the derby my friend Peter Willing was in a boat with Kurt Wagner, who had already caught a two-pound rainbow. When he had the net in his hand, ready to pull in the eight-pounder, he paused just for a moment and thought: "Do I pull this in for Pete, or do I let it go away for the next one, who might be me?" He pulled it into the boat. Pete now holds the record at the Loghouse Pub.

Would all of you in this House please join me in congratulating Pete Willing for an eight-pound rainbow trout, which we know is about this big and about that wide.

STAN HAGEN AND
COMOX VALLEY WALK OF ACHIEVEMENT

D. McRae: In the Comox Valley a group of community-minded individuals had the idea of creating the Comox Valley Walk of Achievement. The idea is to recognize members of the community who have achieved a level of excellence in their chosen field. The walk is meant to be an inspiration to the youth of the Comox Valley and to encourage them to reach their full potential.

The committee is made up of four great community leaders: Dave Durant, Jacqueline Green, Neil Havers and Erik Eriksson. They received numerous nominations from members of the community and then had the challenge of selecting the deserving candidate. It was my pleasure to attend the induction of the late Stan Hagen into the Comox Valley Walk of Achievement on Saturday, August 22.

The Comox Valley was fortunate to have an MLA like Stan Hagen. He was first elected in 1986 and then returned to public service in 2001. He made the Comox Valley a more vibrant place to live, and the projects he supported will benefit the residents for generations to come. Whether it was support for the airport expansion, helping to build the new gymnasium or getting grants for infrastructure, he worked hard to make the Comox Valley a better place for all.

During his time in office Stan served in cabinet for ten different ministries. The central coast land resource management plan was seen by many as Stan's greatest achievement. He guided an innovative, consensus-based, resource land use plan that balanced the interests of industry, the first nations and conservationists. This laid the foundation for the creation of 24 new conservancies protecting over 500,000 hectares of land, including the home of the spirit bear.

As a cabinet minister, Stan conducted himself with professionalism, honour and integrity. He served the province well through both exciting and challenging times.

Lastly, I'd like to express thanks to Stan's family for sharing him with the people of British Columbia. He will be missed.

Oral Questions

IMPACT OF HARMONIZED SALES TAX
ON SENIORS CARE

C. James: This government's story on the HST changes every single day, but what doesn't change is the impact of the HST betrayal on hard-working British Columbians, on the most vulnerable in our province. A new report by the B.C. Care Providers shows that the HST will cost care homes hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional costs. Those costs will mean cuts in care to seniors. Villa Carital, a seniors care home in Vancouver, said that they'll have to pay a staggering $200,000 in additional costs because of the HST.

My question is to the Premier. Does he find it acceptable that seniors will have to pay the price for his HST betrayal?

Hon. C. Hansen: As I indicated yesterday, we recognize that there are impacts on certain sectors, and we're quite prepared to sit down and talk to those sectors in terms of what mitigating measures we should be considering.

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Let's actually look at the impact that HST will have on seniors. As I go around the province and I talk to seniors, I know that they're concerned about the jobs for their sons and daughters and their grandchildren in British Columbia. Unlike the 1990s, when young British Columbians and those grandchildren had to leave this province to find jobs in Ontario, this is a government that is going to stand up and make sure that those jobs are generated in British Columbia, that those grandchildren can stay and work in British Columbia and that they can pay taxes that will contribute to the health care system and the social services that those seniors depend on.

Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Opposition has a supplemental.

C. James: I sat in the kitchen of one of those seniors, who looked across that table at me with her bills in front of her and talked about the impact it's going to have on her budget, when she's not able to make ends meet now. The HST will be a burden to that senior, and that's what this government is doing to the seniors of British Columbia.

I heard this Premier say during the election that he was actually going to provide more care to seniors. And
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what did we see after the election? We saw a tax that's going to hurt seniors, brought in without any warning, without any debate and without any discussion.

The stories keep coming. Care homes here in Victoria alone. James Bay Lodge, Broadmead, Central Care Home, Mount Edwards Court Care Home — all of these care homes are speaking out, saying they face layoffs and impacts on care because of the HST.

So again, my question is to the Premier. For B.C. seniors, for families and for small business, will he listen? Will he today agree to scrap the HST?

Hon. C. Hansen: Let's look at the tax burden on seniors over the last decade. In 2001, under the previous NDP government, we actually had low-income seniors who were relying on their basic old age security and their guaranteed income supplement. Do you know what that government did? It charged them provincial income tax.

We have eliminated….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Minister, take your seat.

Continue, Minister.

Hon. C. Hansen: We have eliminated provincial income tax for low- and middle-income seniors. We have made a fair Pharmacare program in place that benefits low- and middle-income seniors. We have actually reduced MSP premium costs for low- and middle-income seniors.

I can assure the Leader of the Opposition that with the measures we're taking to mitigate the impact of the introduction of the HST on low- and middle-income seniors, they will in fact be paying less in terms of their total taxes than they do even today.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Leader of the Opposition has a further supplemental.

C. James: It's $200,000 for one care home alone. James Bay Lodge, Broadmead. Those care homes are speaking out because this government isn't listening to them. The government is not listening to the concerns that they have. These care homes have valid concerns about huge additional costs with the HST that will mean cuts in supports to seniors. That's what the HST will do.

There's a very clear reason the Premier didn't bring this forward for debate during the election — because he knew he wouldn't win the debate, and certainly, he wouldn't win it with seniors in British Columbia.

So again, my question is to the Premier. Will he stand up today, will he apologize to seniors, and will he back off the HST?

Hon. C. Hansen: Under the new HST system, seniors, along with all other British Columbians, are going to be the net beneficiaries. Seniors are going to benefit from the fact that we have a stronger economy in this province, that there are more people working and that we actually have the tax base and the revenues that will support the services that they depend on in the future.

[1400]

As I've said before, we are quite prepared to sit down and talk to those organizations that are affected by this, but I'll tell you what I will not do. I'll sit down and listen to them. What I won't do is fearmonger with them, which is exactly what the Leader of the Opposition….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: I'll remind members to listen to the question and listen to the answer, please.

A. Dix: So $42 million in additional costs for care homes, more than 200 layoffs for care homes, and the Minister of Finance thinks they're net beneficiaries of the HST? That's his position? I wish he would have run for election on that position, because we know what would have happened then.

B.C. care home providers repeatedly went to Ottawa. They repeatedly went to Ottawa under the term of this government to seek an exemption for health services under the GST. And guess what. These guys supported them. They supported them. The former Minister of Health supported them. B.C. Liberal MLAs supported them. The cabinet supported them. They supported the exemption then.

Before the election they said they supported a tax cut for B.C. care providers, and after the election — big surprise — a tax increase that will cost jobs and mean layoffs and decline in care. How can the minister defend and say that's good news for B.C. seniors?

Hon. C. Hansen: What we ran on in the election was that we would continue to create a strong economy, that we'd continue to create jobs in British Columbia. That's exactly what was….

I am also very proud that this is a government that has taken a health care budget from $8 billion a year, which it was under the previous NDP government, to over $15 billion a year.

I am proud that this is a government that has actually reduced the tax costs that seniors bear in British Columbia today across the whole array of taxes to the point now that we have the second-lowest personal income tax in Canada for incomes up to $116,000 a year. Because of the measures that we've taken over the last years, seniors get more support today than they ever have in the history of British Columbia.

Mr. Speaker: Member has a supplemental.
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A. Dix: Well, hon. Speaker, tell that to seniors in Chilliwack, because their MLA supports cutting off funding to the time-out program, cancelled on 30 days' notice after 17 years. Tell that to seniors in Langley. Their MLA supports cutting $86,000 in funding for the program there. They support cutting that funding on 30 days' notice after 18 years. What incompetence.

The Mountainview care home, run by the Good Samaritan Society in Kelowna — what they want to know is where the minister will be when they're going to have to lay off staff and reduce care standards in their facilities. The minister, before the election, said he was against this application. After the election he's imposing the application. Doesn't the minister think he owes an apology to the Good Samaritan care home and the Mountainview people in Kelowna?

Hon. C. Hansen: What the member will know is that in the budget that was tabled in February, we had an almost 20 percent increase in the amount of funding that was going in to help support seniors. I know that wasn't quite enough for the member.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Minister, just take your seat for a second.

Continue.

Hon. C. Hansen: I know that wasn't quite enough for the member, because he advocated an additional $2 billion a year of increase in the health care budget. And lo and behold, a week before the election even starts, their leader and the Finance critic from his party come out with a budget plan that doesn't include any of the additional dollars that he had been advocating for, for the health budget.

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IMPACT OF HARMONIZED SALES TAX
ON SENIORS

B. Simpson: The Minister of Finance once again uses that word "fearmongering" to suggest that that's all we're doing on this side. I think they used that word when we talked about a deeper and longer deficit and about the state of British Columbia's finances before the election. Who do you think seniors are going to believe now when we stand in this House for them?

The Finance Minister says that seniors are worried about jobs. They're worried about the economy and their community. What they're worried about is the state of their own cupboards and their ability to afford to put food on their table, pay their heating bills and have some basic amenities in their lives.

My question to the minister is this. This is not about hamburgers and beer, as he so dismissively suggested today. It's about basic affordability for seniors. How much will the HST impact a senior couple on a fixed income? How much exactly?

Hon. C. Hansen: I will have those tables and charts on Tuesday as part of the budget documents, but I can assure the member….

Interjections.

Hon. C. Hansen: I can assure the member that, for the majority of seniors on fixed incomes, they will actually see their total tax burden come down as a result of the introduction of HST.

Mr. Speaker: Member has a supplemental.

B. Simpson: The Minister of Finance said yesterday he was on the doorsteps during the election. I'm sure the seniors in his riding who were trying to decide whether to vote for him or not would have liked those tables presented to them so they could find out the truth for themselves before the election, so they could make an informed choice about which side to support.

Some of my seniors have done the math already. Barry Mortell, a senior on a fixed pension, is worried that he has to absorb a 7 percent increase in his basic costs when he only gets a $3 cost-of-living increase per year in his pension — 25 cents a month to cover inflation and a 7 percent HST. Bill Montgomery, another pensioner, has calculated that he will need another pension cheque each year just to cover the additional burden of HST.

To the Premier: these seniors were not given an informed choice during the May 12 election. Will the Premier cancel the HST and at least allow seniors the opportunity to be consulted before the tax is rammed down their throats?

Hon. C. Hansen: Actually, I have a question for the opposition. It's not a multiple choice.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. C. Hansen: What do the member for Surrey-Whalley, the member for Skeena, the member for Juan de Fuca and the member for Coquitlam-Maillardville all have in common? Well, the answer is that they were all members…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. C. Hansen: …of the Finance Committee 2009 budget consultation process around the province, and they
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unanimously agreed to this recommendation that came forward: "The Finance Committee thinks a cost-benefit analysis needs to be conducted to determine whether a harmonized sales tax may be worth considering."

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Sit down. Sit down.

Members.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. The question is: do we want to continue?

Minister, continue.

Hon. C. Hansen: In fact, I took the advice of the Finance Committee — all of the members, both the government members and the opposition members — and that question about the pros and cons, the cost benefits of the HST, was duly considered in advance of the February budget. On balance, we came to the conclusion that it was not a net benefit at that time.

I again took the advice of the recommendation of the Finance Committee in May when it was obvious that that question had changed fundamentally. Again, we looked at the costs and benefits and the pros and cons, and it became readily obvious to us that we needed to shift our position.

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On Tuesday of next week I will set out some numbers for the hon. member that he can share with his senior friend, which will actually demonstrate that the impact on typical seniors in British Columbia will in fact be a net benefit and nowhere near the magnitude that he's talking about.

IMPACT OF HARMONIZED SALES TAX
ON RESTAURANT INDUSTRY
AND LOCAL FARMS

L. Popham: By implementing a tax that threatens B.C.'s restaurant industry, this government is slamming the door on a critical market for B.C. farms.

Recently the president of the Island Chefs Collaborative, Cory Pelan, stated that the connection between small local farms and the restaurants they supply is a direct and mutually sustainable one. However, Mr. Pelan said that because the HST threatens the restaurant industry, it also threatens B.C.'s small and medium-sized farms, which depend on local restaurants buying their fresh produce.

My question is to the Minister of Agriculture. Did you consider the negative impacts on small farms when you supported the HST?

Hon. C. Hansen: Let me tell you what was actually the biggest threat to the restaurant industry that's occurred in the last number of years. It was actually a commitment….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Just sit down, Minister.

Members.

Continue, Minister.

Hon. C. Hansen: The biggest threat to the restaurant industry in recent years was the commitment that was made by that party that would jack up their wage cost by 25 percent, and the industry itself said it would lay off thousands of restaurant workers and close literally hundreds of restaurants around British Columbia.

To the benefit of the hon. member, the B.C. Agriculture Council, which represents 12,000 farmers in British Columbia, is in support of HST because it takes costs out of their costs in producing the food that we depend on.

Mr. Speaker: Member has a supplemental.

L. Popham: The Minister of Agriculture didn't answer my question. My question is about small farmers and local food production for local restaurants.

Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association, has stated today that the connection between the restaurant industry and local food and beverage producers provides a material boost to the local economy. B.C. Restaurants and Foodservices Association does not support the HST.

Given the devastating effect HST will have on the restaurant industry and local farms in B.C., will the Minister of Agriculture stand up for these industries and demand the Premier cancel the proposed HST in British Columbia?

Hon. C. Hansen: As I pointed out to representatives of the restaurant industry in one of our discussions, even a head of lettuce has embedded PST built into the cost. The cost of putting tires on the trucks that move produce from the farms to the distribution warehouses and from those warehouses to the restaurants has embedded PST in it that gets passed on in terms of the cost of those goods.

I can tell you what is the biggest threat to the restaurant industry in British Columbia. It's people who are unemployed, and that threat is because people who don't have jobs don't typically go out to restaurants to dine.

This is a measure that's going to create jobs. This is a measure that's going to stabilize the economy and provide for economic growth, and it is exactly that economic growth that will help benefit a restaurant industry in the years to come.
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IMPACT OF HARMONIZED SALES TAX
ON RESTAURANT
AND TOURISM INDUSTRies

S. Herbert: I have questions for the Minister of Tourism. I'll try again. The Minister of Tourism said the HST would be good for all, but there would be exceptions.

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What does the minister have to say about hallmark tourist attractions like Butchart Gardens, who've said they may have to close because of the HST, or the fact that the Canadian Restaurant Association says the HST will cost B.C. restaurants $750 million in lost revenue and force businesses to lay off thousands of employees? Tell me how mass layoffs are good for British Columbia.

Hon. C. Hansen: Those are the service industries across British Columbia and the tourism sector and the restaurant sector. They all benefit from a strong economy. You've seen their successes over the last decade, Mr. Speaker. They do well when the economy does well, and they do well when we have the kind of record unemployment rates that we had in this province not too long ago.

That is exactly what we accomplish with HST — stronger economy, more jobs and more benefit from that which flows to the service sector.

Mr. Speaker: Member has a supplemental.

S. Herbert: Well, certainly nobody on this side seems to believe your make-believe, and nobody in the province is believing this make-believe.

My question, again, is for the Minister of Tourism. The Minister of Tourism refused to rise today, and he refused to rise yesterday to answer questions about the thousands of tourism businesses in B.C. that will be slammed by the HST. He doesn't rise because he knows that it's the employees, businesses and communities that rely on tourism who are the big losers under this tax hike.

Minister, is the Council of Tourism Associations wrong…?

Mr. Speaker: Member, through the Chair, please.

S. Herbert: Through the Chair, my question to the minister is: is the Council of Tourism Associations wrong when they say the HST will be devastating, catastrophic and ruinous to tourism and tourism jobs in B.C.?

Hon. C. Hansen: Let's actually talk about some of the organizations in British Columbia that are 100 percent in support….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Continue, Minister.

Hon. C. Hansen: Let's talk about the organizations in British Columbia that are 100 percent in support of our move to HST. We've got the Business Council of British Columbia. We've got the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, and as the opposition Finance critic will know, the B.C. Chamber of Commerce representing 52,000 businesses in British Columbia has made submissions to the prebudget consultation Finance Committee hearings around the province each of the years that he has been a member of that particular committee of this Legislature.

The Coast Forest Products Association is in favour. Why? Because it's actually going to bring jobs back to the forest sector and make our products more competitive.

Let's look at the Retail Council of Canada, which represents retailers in every single corner of this province. They support it because it is a simpler and more efficient tax system.

The Chartered Accountants of British Columbia, the accountants that serve all of those companies around this province. And it's interesting. I've talked to small business owners who initially may have had some apprehension and who, once they had the chance to sit down with their accountants, recognize that this is a significant net benefit for those small businesses in British Columbia.

Mr. Speaker: Thank you, Minister.

Hon. C. Hansen: The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association. Mr. Speaker, of course, I could go on and on, because the list is extensive.

J. Kwan: I have a simple question for the Minister of Finance. Can he tell this House whether or not the Council of Tourism Associations and the Restaurant and Foodservices Association are wrong on their prediction that the HST is going to hurt their industries?

Hon. C. Hansen: As I have said, virtually every business enterprise in British Columbia benefits from a stronger economy, benefits from the fact that there are more jobs, benefits from the fact that there will be more investment coming into British Columbia. This is a measure that actually stimulates the economy, creates jobs which will benefit ultimately all of those sectors.

Mr. Speaker: Member has a supplemental.

[1420]

J. Kwan: A simple question for the minister. Who's telling the truth? Ian Tostenson, who says that the HST
[ Page 73 ]
is going to hurt their business, their industry, or is this minister telling the truth?

Hon. C. Hansen: I have had the pleasure of meeting with Ian Tostenson on several occasions, and we've had a very good discussion. I have indicated to Mr. Tostenson that we are prepared to look at measures that might help mitigate some of the microeconomic impacts on certain companies. But at the end of the day, people in British Columbia who are unemployed do not have the luxury of being able to go out and enjoy the fine restaurants that he represents.

With this measure we wind up with lower unemployment, more people working. That is the circumstance that allows British Columbians to enjoy some of those extra benefits and luxuries of being able to dine out at some of those fine restaurants.

N. Macdonald: The question that all British Columbians have is that if there was a case to be made for this tax, why was it not made during the election? Why was the exact opposite case made during the election? Because there is not a credible case.

Despite a written promise during the election to not introduce this new tax, it's now clear that the government fully intended to introduce a tax that the tourist says is devastating.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

N. Macdonald: Rod Kessler from Revelstoke Mountain Resort condemns the HST. He says it's going to add $750,000 to his business — that big of a hit. Panorama, other ski hills — all the same. I thought we had a Minister of Tourism that was opposed to it.

How can the Minister of Tourism justify a tax that is going to be devastating?

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. C. Hansen: I think if we look at that member's own riding, where unemployed forest workers would love to have their jobs back, this is a measure….

Interjections.

Hon. C. Hansen: I bet those forest workers would love to have an income that would allow them to actually go and enjoy a day of skiing on their day off. This is a measure, the HST, that will take $140 million of costs out of the forest sector in a way that does not violate the softwood lumber agreement.

This is a member who has constantly rattled on over the last six months about the need to benefit the forest sector in British Columbia, but every solution that he comes up with would make the problem worse, because it would violate the softwood lumber agreement.

This is a measure that supports the forest sector in British Columbia, helps put those forest workers back to work in his own constituency.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. C. Hansen: And it is through those increased jobs, the stronger economy, a more competitive environment for our forest sector that we're going to have a stronger British Columbia.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Member. Members.

I would remind the member to wait till the minister is finished answering the question before he stands.

Minister, the member has a supplemental.

N. Macdonald: B.C. Liberals have zero credibility when talking about forestry jobs. Twenty-five thousand jobs lost under this government's watch — that's a pretty sorry record. And they intend to do exactly the same thing to the tourism industry — exactly the same thing.

"The HST…."

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

N. Macdonald: This is a quote from Bob Shafto, president of Heli Canada Adventures.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Member, just take your seat for a second.

Continue.

[1425]

N. Macdonald: Bob Shafto, president of Heli Canada Adventures. This is an exact quote. The minister…. Or if there was a Minister of Tourism, he would have received this letter. It says: "The HST will more than likely put my company out of business, and this is unacceptable."

A similar sentiment from Robert Davidson in Kimberley, who runs the Village Bistro there. The minister is getting the same letters. He knows this. Mr. Davidson said that his support for this government was not predicated on the introduction of the HST.
[ Page 74 ]

Mr. Speaker: Member, could you pose the question, please.

N. Macdonald: When business after business is being devastated, how can the Minister of Tourism sit and say nothing in this House? Stand and speak for tourism.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

Hon. C. Hansen: It's interesting to see the NDP defending an old and increasingly obsolete form of taxation that we now know as our provincial sales tax, especially when you actually look at the fact that it is a type of tax, a type of consumer tax, that has been rejected by 130 countries from around the world.

It's interesting that even in social democratic Sweden…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Minister. Minister.

Hon. C. Hansen: …they have had a value….

Mr. Speaker: Minister, just take your seat.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

Continue, Minister.

Hon. C. Hansen: There are huge benefits in the shift to HST that are going to benefit individual families in British Columbia, that are going to benefit in terms of job creation in British Columbia and that will create a stronger economy for our province.

We see $150 million of compliance costs that small businesses in British Columbia will no longer have to face. We will see increased investment, we will see increased jobs in this province, and we will see an increase in our ability as a government to pay for the health care and education and social services that our citizens depend on in the future.

[End of question period.]

Hon. G. Abbott: I rise to present a petition.

Mr. Speaker: Proceed.

Petitions

Hon. G. Abbott: I'm presenting a petition from 1,130 residents of the Shuswap, North Okanagan and British Columbia in relation to concerns around a proposed animal waste facility in Grindrod, British Columbia.

Hon. M. Coell: I wish to present a petition from the Saanich Peninsula Piranhas Swim Club — 450 signatures in support of provincial gaming grants to assist community and non-profit organizations.

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. de Jong: I call continued debate in response to the throne speech.

[1430]

Mr. Speaker: Would the members clear the chamber so we can get on with the throne speech debate — members who have other business.

Throne Speech Debate

(continued)

Hon. G. Abbott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to resume my place and continue my response to the Speech from the Throne. I would like to begin by thanking the member for Fraser-Nicola who, in one of the bipartisan gestures that increasingly characterize our chamber, reminded me that I've actually served here for 13 years rather than 12 years. So I do appreciate that gesture on the part of the member for Fraser-Nicola.

An Hon. Member: It's a beautiful thing Harry has done.

Hon. G. Abbott: It's a beautiful thing is exactly right.

[L. Reid in the chair.]

I did want to reflect on a couple of areas of public policy in my comments today. First, I want to address the issue of health and health care in the province of British Columbia. It was certainly an exceptional honour to be able to be the Minister of Health and Health Services in the province of British Columbia for four years. It was, without question, the most interesting job I'm ever apt to have and probably the toughest job I was ever apt to have as well.

The challenges are very considerable, and we have many, many people in the province of British Columbia who do terrific, relentless work in terms of trying to meet the demands for health care that exist in the province.

I did want to take the opportunity to say thank you, first of all, to staff at my former ministry, the Ministry of Health Services. They provided exceptional advice to me and, I'm certain, to the new minister as well. They work very hard and, I think, provide exceptional service to British Columbia.

I also wanted to say thank you to the six health authorities in British Columbia — the Provincial Health Services
[ Page 75 ]
Authority and the five regional authorities. Again, the tens of thousands of people who work in the health authorities across British Columbia are often, on a day-to-day basis, the unheralded heroes that provide those front-line services to British Columbians.

The chairs of the boards, the boards themselves, the CEO and administration. I think we are blessed in British Columbia by the exceptional leadership which is provided by the boards and the senior administration, which implements the policy of the boards and the ministry and the government of British Columbia.

I also want to take a moment to say thank you to the doctors and the nurses, the front-line care workers across the province who, again, get up each and every morning and provide their very much committed service to the British Columbians that they serve. On any day of the week we would see something like 140,000 British Columbians who are engaged in delivering health care to British Columbians. On any given day there are literally hundreds of thousands of interactions in the health care system. Virtually all of those interactions go very well, and one never hears of them.

I know that as a Health Minister, I did hear of some of those interactions from people who wrote just to say thank you for the great service that they received at their local hospital. Again, those interactions often go unnoted, but the front-line health care workers are hugely important to the province and do a great job each and every day.

[1435]

We do have a very good health care system in British Columbia. That is a fact which we should never overlook.

Whether it's the Conference Board of Canada that, in its exhaustive analyses of provincial health care systems, found British Columbia, by a very considerable margin, to have the very best health care delivery in the nation, or the Cancer Advocacy Coalition, which has in their reports now for several years been saluting British Columbia for the exceptional cancer care that we enjoy through not only the British Columbia Cancer Agency but the many hospitals that are linked into the work that's done by the Cancer Agency.

Even the wait-time coalition, which is, I think, part of the Canadian Medical Association. They look at wait times across the nation, and invariably, British Columbia comes out very well in terms of wait times.

We have some of the best — the best — in terms of cancer, but also whether it's heart, cardiac or cataracts or any number of other areas, almost invariably British Columbia has some of the shortest wait times in the nation, and we should be very proud of that. We should be very proud that we have a very good health care system that we continue to build day after day and year after year.

Is the system perfect? No, it absolutely is not. There is much room for improvement in our health care system, but that's true of all systems, and we need to work relentlessly. Notwithstanding the very good reports we've had from the Conference Board and others, we need to work relentlessly each and every day to build on what is a very good health care system and continue to drive towards excellence in all aspects of the health care system.

I know that at times, because health care is a highly emotional area, it can be an area that comes into harsh treatment from a partisan perspective. Often that's unfortunate, because the 140,000 people who provide health care are not partisan. They provide health care to all regardless of anyone's orientation, and we need to work with those 140,000 people to continue to improve and to excel.

In a number of areas I'm very proud of what our government was able to do in terms of improving health care. When I look back on the last four years, I'm particularly proud of what we have been able to do in terms of investment in facilities. Sometimes people say: "What did you do with all those surpluses?" Well, as a matter of fact, a lot of the surpluses that we enjoyed in recent years have been invested in new health care and improved health care facilities across the province.

Our government has invested literally billions of dollars in improved health care facilities across the province, and I won't try to go through all of those facilities. Shuswap Lake General Hospital — about $23 million investment in improving the facilities at Shuswap Lake General. Very proud of that.

Vernon Jubilee Hospital — $180 million invested in a new care tower at Vernon Jubilee Hospital. Again, enormously important to residents of the Shuswap, the North Okanagan and the Okanagan.

Over half a billion dollars invested at Kelowna General Hospital, including fulfilling a promise which had been made some 20 years ago but which we have fulfilled, which is to bring cardiac services to Kelowna General Hospital to serve the interior region of British Columbia. Those cardiac services, I think, had been promised since about 1986, and they are now being provided or very soon will be provided. Early 2010, I believe, or late 2009 we'll be seeing those expanded cardiac services at Kelowna General Hospital.

Folks in Salmon Arm and elsewhere in the Interior will no longer have to wait in hospital in the Interior before typically being flown down to Vancouver or Victoria for cardiac services. We'll be able to get those in Kelowna. So that's awesome.

[1440]

Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops has also benefited from very considerable investments. But right across the province, some of the huge investments…. Surrey Memorial Hospital, over half a billion dollars invested there. Royal Jubilee Hospital, not far away in Victoria
[ Page 76 ]
— again, well over $300 million invested in a new tower at Royal Jubilee. The new Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre — again, huge improvements. Huge improvements at Prince George, with the new pediatric centre that's now in place.

Also, we're looking forward in just three years, I believe, to a cancer centre of the north — the first time that residents of Prince George and the north will be able to access cancer care without having to come to other parts. These are huge investments in cancer care alone. In Prince George, over $100 million invested there — obviously, enormously important to the residents of the north and to Prince George.

A new hospital. Over $200 million in a new hospital at Fort St. John — one of the fastest-growing areas of our province and a facility that needs remediation.

Those investments are huge. They will, for decades, provide benefits to the British Columbians who will enjoy the care there.

Another area where our government has worked very hard to improve is in the area of programs. One area for which I have a particular passion is the area of primary care — trying to ensure that British Columbians understand the things that can help their health or hurt their health, working very closely with not only physicians but nurse practitioners, nurse educators and many others — pharmacists, physiotherapists, dietitians and others — in a group care setting, to try to ensure that all British Columbians make the very best that they can of their health opportunities.

I want to salute particularly the B.C. Medical Association, which has been an integral partner with the Ministry of Health and with the government of British Columbia in developing a very robust primary care program for British Columbians. As a minister, I benefited for four years from the exceptional partnerships provided by BCMA, and I do want to thank them for that.

On the program area as well, one of the things that we attempted to do, in addition to primary care, was look at, analyze and think about how we could improve every area of health care on the acute care side — right from admissions to hospital through to discharge from hospital — to look at all of the processes that occur in an acute care facility and try to look at how we can better provide those.

One of the areas where, again, I am particularly proud that this exceptional work was done, begun at Richmond Hospital with the hip and knee…. Madam Chair, you'd be especially proud of this, being from Richmond as you are. Richmond Hospital took the lead in terms of looking at how we can improve the efficiency of surgical processes and focus particularly on hip and knee replacements.

The pioneering work — and it was very exceptional work that was done at Richmond Hospital — has now been utilized at the Centre for Surgical Innovation at the University of British Columbia. The improvements that have been continued there now have been imported into most health facilities across the province.

Whether it's at St. Paul's, with some of the work that they're doing now around hand and wrist and foot and ankle, areas where we've had chronic issues with wait times…. Now we are seeing dramatic improvements in all of those areas, because they're utilizing surgical innovations like swing rooms and preparation that have just made a huge difference in terms of the outcome for patients.

Those are not innovations that make news every day, but they are innovations that have had a profound impact on literally thousands of people's lives in the province of British Columbia.

[1445]

I'm very proud of what the health care professionals have done to build those programs, to improve efficiencies and to improve outcomes, because all of that has made a difference in people's lives. That's why, I think, all of us in this chamber came here as well — to see improvements in people's lives.

A third area where, again, we have relentlessly been pressing improvement is in the area of health human resources. One of the things that is often talked about but often too little done about is ensuring that we have a sufficient number of health professionals across the province to meet the ever-growing needs of British Columbians.

I am very proud that — now, I guess, two years ago — we were able to achieve the commitment which our government set out in 2001-2002 to double the number of physicians that we were educating annually in the province. I and the then Minister of Advanced Education went out to UBC and participated in a ceremony celebrating the fact that what had been 128 in the intake class previously was now 256, a doubling of the number of physicians that we're educating in British Columbia.

Now, it takes years to educate and train a physician. The doubling of the classes for physicians was a huge undertaking on the part of the medical school at UBC and elsewhere. Again, I want to salute the dean of medicine and others who worked so very hard to undertake the doubling of the numbers at UBC.

But that's only part of the story. The success of the doubling of the number of medical students was also a product of the expansion of medical programs beyond UBC to the University of Victoria, to the University of Northern British Columbia and, effective in 2010, to UBC Okanagan as well.

In British Columbia we benefit enormously from the amazing work that has been done around distributed learning. It's remarkable to go into a class at the University of Northern British Columbia and watch students participate with the medical class, their peers, at UBC, at UVic and elsewhere. This distributed learning model has been a remarkable success. Again, students
[ Page 77 ]
or physicians who are educated in the north, nurses who are educated in the north, tend to stay in the north, This is having a profoundly beneficial impact on the availability of physicians in the north and is a great step ahead.

Another area where, again, there was lots of talk for years but there's been more action in recent years is in the utilization of international medical graduates. One of the stories that one used to hear was jumping in a cab and talking to the cab driver and hearing that he was a surgeon from India who had been unable to get accreditation in British Columbia. Happily, we are hearing fewer and fewer of those stories.

We moved in the past few years from two residencies for international medical graduates. We tripled that to six, and more recently we tripled that again to 18 international medical graduates who every year are able to access those positions. That, in addition to some other work, has ensured that IMGs have the opportunity to work, particularly in rural locations in British Columbia, through incentive programs which have been developed to do that.

Also, members will remember — those who were here, at least, in the spring of 2008 — the legislation for the health professions review board, which is now in place. This ensures that all qualified medical professionals, whether they were educated elsewhere in Canada or elsewhere in the world, if they were qualified to work or practise in the province of British Columbia…. We put in place the health professions review board to ensure that there were no unfortunate, unnecessary systemic barriers to their practising in British Columbia. I think that was a huge step ahead as well.

[1450]

In nursing. As well as doubling the number of physicians educated in this province, we have doubled the number of nurses that we are educating in this province. That's both registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. Right across the province we're seeing the benefit of that. We also worked with the B.C. Institute of Technology to put in place a three-year nurse education program, which is now underway and which I'm sure will be a great success in providing more nurses in British Columbia.

That was part of our provincial nursing strategy, which involved many components. Among the components: utilizing older or retired nurses, whether it's in HealthLink or other areas; programs that encouraged graduate nurses to undertake practice in rural or remote British Columbia with incentive programs. Those were a couple of the components. Creating and then building our nurse practitioner program — again, a hugely important new feature here in British Columbia.

One area that was part of the strategy that I think is particularly important was to encourage more aboriginal people to undertake careers in nursing. I think one of the interesting linkages between my new ministerial responsibilities as Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation and my former responsibilities in the Ministry of Health is that in many ways, I believe there is an opportunity in the aboriginal relations world in terms of meeting what I think is the biggest challenge to not just government but society generally around the provision of health care in the 21st century.

There is no doubt, after spending four years in this area of public policy and public service delivery, that the provision of health care will be the dominant challenge to not just government but society in the 21st century. There is a fundamental demographic shift — and really an unprecedented demographic shift — that is occurring not just in British Columbia and Canada but across the western world, which is going to profoundly impact the provision of health care.

A decade ago about 8 percent of the population of British Columbia was aged 65-plus. Today it is about 14 percent, and in the decade to 15 years ahead it will move from 14 percent to somewhere between 25 and 30 percent of the population of British Columbia being 65-plus — including, I lament to say, myself, who will also join that august group. I know I'm profoundly boyish at all points, and it's hard to imagine that I could achieve that august age. And perhaps I won't, but I'm looking forward to the opportunity to do that.

One of the things we know about health care is that although there is always a world of difference between people in terms of their health outcomes, when you take all of the information from all of the people and put it together, generally speaking, the demand for health services grows as we age. Again, there are lots of exceptions to that. My mother, who is 87 this year, enjoys wonderful physical and mental health, but there are lots of people much younger than her who do not. Everybody's circumstance varies, but on an aggregated basis, there is a challenge in terms of British Columbia and Canada and the western world becoming a much older population.

One of the exceptions to that demographic shift is in first nations communities. One of the fastest-growing demographic units is young aboriginal or first nations British Columbians. I think the opportunity for government to work to ensure that aboriginal young people have those opportunities is hugely important, so we need to continue that work.

[1455]

I can't believe that my time has moved so quickly.

We are committed to ensuring that opportunity is there for young British Columbians. We have bountiful resources, wonderful opportunities and an energetic population here. We need to work very hard to ensure that those boundless opportunities are there for all British Columbians, including aboriginal people in this province.

Our history in British Columbia over the past 150 years is not by any means a proud one in relation to aboriginal relations. We have much work to do. A lot of
[ Page 78 ]
that work is trying to ensure that aboriginal communities in British Columbia enjoy the opportunities that all British Columbians should enjoy.

We need to ensure that areas, whether it's health outcomes, education outcomes — all of these areas, including economic development…. We need to close the gap. We need to make sure that not only is British Columbia a great place of opportunity for everyone. We need to work to ensure that that happens each and every day.

As part of a government that is very much concerned with these matters, I know that we will work with first nations leadership to ensure that we move ahead in British Columbia with a great and just society.

M. Karagianis: Congratulations, Madam Speaker, on your new position. Great to see you there.

I would like to first say what a great privilege and an honour it is to have been re-elected, to once again take my place here in the Legislature, and to say how very exciting it has been to see so many more women in the Legislature than in the past. I'd like to congratulate all of the communities that elected and sent strong women forward to the Legislature. [Applause.]

That may be the only applause I get from the other side of the House, and I do appreciate it.

I would like to speak today to the throne speech that was made the other day, but first I would like to take just a moment to thank the number of people who helped to send me here once again. I know that other members of the House will understand my great debt of thanks to my family for all that they do and for standing behind me here as I have run for office many times and served for many long years in one form or another. I would like to specifically thank each of them for the part that they have played in helping me get re-elected, but also for the great patience that they demonstrate.

You know, my husband, Todd, has worked on all my campaigns but equally spends many nights having dinner with me in front of the television set. When he gets home from work he likes to turn the TV on and see if he gets a glimpse of his wife while he eats by himself. I know that others in this chamber probably share that kind of experience with their mate.

My children. My oldest daughter Rebecca and her husband, Rob, who works out of the province — because, in fact, they were displaced when the mill shut in Gold River a number of years ago — lost their home, and Rob has since worked all over North America in order to provide for his family.

My daughter Rebecca graduated last year from nursing school and is now a practising nurse in Campbell River, for which I'm enormously proud. Her three children, Hunter, Payton and River. At various times a couple of them have been down here with their classes.

Her youngest child, River, was here with his class, in fact, during the election period, so I was unable to attend and speak to his class. He had a bit of a hard time explaining to his class what it was I did. He knew I worked here, but he wasn't clear on whether I was one of the cleaners, whether I worked in the Clerk's office, or exactly what I did. He knew I sat in this big room behind the cage, as he called it, but he wasn't really clear what my job was. So we've since clarified that, and hopefully, he'll get a chance to watch and understand a little bit more about what the job is here.

[1500]

My son Nigel and his wife, Robin, have been a great help to me on my campaigns. I know there was a great flurry last fall of members talking about recent births of grandchildren and things. I didn't take my place in that, but in fact, my youngest grandchild, Maxine Dacara, who was born last summer, turned one just a few days ago. So we've celebrated Maxine's birthday.

My daughter Devyn, her husband, Kurt, and my granddaughter Indiana, whom I've talked about in the House before. I know that many of you have shared the support for my daughter Devyn, who battled and won the fight with breast cancer last year and is very healthy and has had her…. She passed her first MRI with flying colours a year later, so we're pretty sure that we're all good there with Devyn and her family.

Then my youngest daughter, Aubrey, and her partner, Brendan, who live on Mayne Island and who rooted really hard in the election for their New Democrat candidate — who didn't quite make it in Saanich North and the Islands — but perhaps they'll have better luck next time.

To my campaign team who did just a terrific job. Jayne, who ran my campaign — a young woman, very dynamic, who I expect someday to take her place in here as one of the women who have sat in the Legislature. She's done a terrific job and continues to be a great friend and supporter.

To Lawrence, Jared, Dave, Bobbie, Barb, Jock, Jaime — all of them who did just an enormous job and terrific job of running a great campaign and getting me here. I owe a great debt of thanks to them. And to my good friend Ray Rice, who always stands by me.

But mostly to my constituents who have done me the great honour and privilege of having elected me now twice to the Legislature, three times in the constituency as a municipal councillor in Esquimalt. So I think, as the previous speaker said, I have now spent 13 years representing my community in some form or other in elected office, and I do thank my constituents for their continuing support. It's a great privilege to stand here on their behalf.

So Madam Speaker, I have a new riding, as you so aptly announced there — the riding of Esquimalt–Royal Roads. That has meant that I've changed the scope and
[ Page 79 ]
character of my community considerably. Gone are the rural parts of the community that I enjoyed under the Metchosin municipal community that was part of the previous constituency. I no longer represent Langford as well. Both those communities are very, very ably represented by my colleague and good friend the member for Juan de Fuca.

I have gained in the process the community of Vic West, just over the blue bridge. So now it's pretty easy for me to say everything over the blue bridge that you can see is part of my riding. That's been a great community to add to my constituency.

Certainly, there are a lot of issues that I'll be raising here in the House on behalf of those four municipalities that I now represent: Colwood, View Royal, Esquimalt and part of Victoria under Vic West.

Transportation, as always, continues to be an issue that we raise here in the House, both the member for Juan de Fuca and I repeatedly, and will continue to do so, because it's a huge challenge for our community. The West Shore is growing dramatically, exponentially. Even in tough economic times, huge growth is still going on there.

Transportation. The need for some kind of commuter rail system there — expanded transportation options always on the constituents' minds.

Sewage treatment continues to be a very hot topic here in the region, and certainly the community of Esquimalt is front and centre of that issue.

The need for replacement of Belmont School, which sits in my riding but that both the member for Juan de Fuca and I share, absolutely continues to be an issue we bring up over and over again here in the House.

Now, in the new part of my riding of Vic West, there is a huge issue broiling up there — the continued and very, very strong opposition to a mega-yacht marina, which would completely overshadow and change forever the scope and character of the Inner Harbour here. I've spent a great number of years working on cleanup and protection of the Gorge waterway and repatriation of the shorelines here. This would be a devastating project were it to come forward. So I expect we're going to have some opportunities to talk about that here in the House.

[1505]

But I wanted to talk a little bit more about what I've learned in 13 years of serving in public office. It's going to be a theme that I think will be familiar in this House. It's the theme about what it takes to stay in elected office, which is hard work and honesty.

That's going to be a theme for me in my comments here and probably in everything I do in the Legislature in the next couple of years, because in fact I raised my family…. I talked about this terrific family I have and what amazing people they are, what amazing, responsible and strong contributing members of their community they all are. One of the things that was the tenet of their upbringing was honesty.

They could make all kinds of mistakes. They could fail at things, but they were never allowed to tell a lie. That was the one solid continuum of their entire upbringing, and today my kids are absolutely dead honest about things.

I've always believed you're only as good as your word and that it's all about truth and honesty. Interesting enough…. As politicians we make lots of promises. I looked up the definition of a promise here, and in fact, a promise is a declaration of something that will or will not be done, an expression of assurance of what expectation people can have of you. It's a pledge, a covenant.

Truth and honesty, to me, are the real tenets of what we do as politicians. Certainly, right now in the province of British Columbia I hear every single day on the streets of this community, of my constituency and wherever I go that British Columbians are very disappointed that they have not been treated with fair and just honesty by their government that they elected. In fact, the promises that were made by the government, this covenant that was made by the government going into a very important election here, have been in fact untrue, have turned out to be very much the opposite.

You know, it seems to me that we're encouraging more cynicism here in the province of British Columbia when the people of this province feel betrayed by promises that they were given leading up to this election, choices that they made. They feel now that they have been deceived by a government that has broken those promises — the pledge that they made to the people of this province.

British Columbians voted on an expectation that the B.C. Liberals were telling the truth about what people could expect from them by re-electing a government here in May. The pledge that the people of British Columbia expected from this government formed the basis on which they voted. But in fact, now, as it turns out, none of that is true. None of the things that people in British Columbia voted for, in fact, are going to be what they get out of the government here. Nothing could be further from the truth than the things that they believed they were voting for.

I have to say, based on that and my experience…. You know, I'm only as good as my word. So what happens when you have a government that's not as good as its word? What happens when you have a government that reneges on absolutely every single thing that they said they were going to do leading into an election?

We had a Finance Minister that talked about his revelations about the budget. British Columbians heard over and over again an assurance that, in fact, the deficit in this province was going to be $495 million. I mean, we heard that over and over again, an assurance from the B.C. Liberals going into the election and through the election process.
[ Page 80 ]

It would seem to me that the Finance Minister must have been the only person — along with the Premier, I guess — who was oblivious to the facts that were unfolding before all of us day after day after day in the newspaper. We talked about it here in this House before we broke and went off to fight the election. It was, in fact, the most compelling topic in every newspaper column for months, both before, during the election and, certainly, after it.

[1510]

You have to say to yourself: "What in the world are we to believe if the government says, 'We knew nothing about the true nature of the books of British Columbia until after the election. We couldn't actually come out with a more factual rendition of what the deficit was going to look like because we didn't know'?"

Well, I just don't think it's credible that the Finance Minister and the Premier would be the only people in the province who believed for one moment that the deficit was going to stay at $495 million.

But I think more than this is the fact that these revelations from the government have come out after an election that was fought on a whole different set of principles. I guess we'll talk about some of those things as we get into the budget, and we'll be debating that. We'll look at what the facts — we hope the true facts — are.

Nonetheless, I think that we have a skepticism now in British Columbia that puts a shame on government, on the fact that the government was in fact so misleading going into the election. The HST, which has been the most compelling topic on everyone's lips these days…. I can't go get groceries, walk my dog or put my garbage out by the roadside without people stopping to tell me how very angry they are about the HST and about the impact it's going to have on them, their families or their parents in some form or other.

I want to look again at this idea of honesty within government and how you're only as good as your word. What happens when you break that?

I have a quote here — the facts, in fact, of a questionnaire that was sent out by the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association just prior to the election, where the B.C. Liberal Party said that the HST would extend the PST tax base to a broader range of goods and services. "This is a major concern. The B.C. Liberals have no plans to formally engage the federal government in discussions about potential harmonization."

Well, that was in May. In July we have the Finance Minister saying: "The HST is, in my view, absolutely the right public policy for British Columbia." There is not a person in British Columbia that does not believe that is a complete failure of honesty with the people of British Columbia — that in May the B.C. Liberal Party would say "absolutely no" to harmonization tax and then, literally within weeks, would turn around and say: "We're putting in HST, and not only that, it's a really good idea."

If in fact this is the basis on which we go forward here with government, then I would have to agree with what Barbara Yaffe wrote here in The Vancouver Sun on August 27. She goes on about the accountability for the HST. One of the lines she's written here: "The province's actions are certain to yield a loss of trust in the Campbell government, a loss that will challenge its future legitimacy."

That comes down to the basic tenet of "how good are you?" If you're not as good as your word, then what are you? What is your value? I think Ms. Yaffe has said it very clearly — that your future legitimacy, in fact, is in question.

People are outraged in my community. People are outraged in communities right across this province. The current reality for many people in my community and in many communities across British Columbia is that they are struggling from payday to payday. If they are seniors, they are struggling with a fixed income. If they are families, they are trying to raise their children and pay for housing, rented or owned, trying to get through their day, trying to make sure that there's food on the table and that their kids are clothed.

All of the very essential products that they are required every single day to spend money on so that those things can happen — basic food and shelter; raise your kids; if you're a senior, make sure you can eat, afford your medication — are now, under the HST, going to go up in price.

[1515]

There's a Facebook group that has over 100,000 people opposing the HST. There are petitions going on everywhere. I love the petition here — the half-page ad that came out, paid for by a group of angry former B.C. Liberals. I love this. There's a whole list here of all of the things that are now going to be coming out of individual people's pockets, from groceries to cable TV, tickets, haircuts, movies, theatres, newspapers, taxi fares, airline tickets, skiing, resort packages, parking, coffee shops, fast food, dry cleaning, repair and maintenance, hydro, natural gas, vitamins, school supplies, home maintenance and funeral planning.

These are not the kinds of services that families can choose yes or no. These are essential services that people don't have a choice about spending on. We have a government that has now decided that all of these things are going to cost people more, that we're going to make it more difficult for people in this province — for seniors, for families, for young people — to get by.

In fact, that's also being imposed in the context of a province that under this B.C. Liberal government has found itself with huge job losses across this province. The great fiscal managers of the B.C. Liberal government failed miserably to provide any kind of secure environment to stop job losses in British Columbia.

Child poverty — highest again in Canada, year six. Largest deficit in the history of the province, and I guess
[ Page 81 ]
we're going to see exactly how far that's going to balloon in the coming days. A forest industry decimated, salmon fishing in crisis, cuts to health care, higher costs for post-secondary education, no raise in the minimum wage. On top of all of that, what do we put as a solution? What's the great fiscal solution to that? We didn't talk about it during the election, but now suddenly we've got an HST that is supposed to resolve all of that.

I don't buy for one minute, nor do the people in my community buy for one minute, that this is going to make life easier. We all know it's going to make life harder. Somewhere in a big corporate boardroom, maybe, there's a list of things different from the list I just read out, where they're going to get a tax break. But the list I just read out…. I could go on, because there are many, many more things in there — smoke detectors; fire extinguishers; solar power; helmets, for Pete's sake; Chinese medicine; life jackets. Those are all essential things.

Somewhere, I'm sure, there's a corporate list that says: "Here are all of the things that we are going to gain money back on. We're not going to pay PST on this, and this is going to fatten up our bottom line." But for the bottom line of average families in my constituency, it is a cost. It is a cost that in fact could be very dire for seniors and for families.

So you have to say: why is it — when the B.C. Liberal government makes decisions like this, which they didn't talk about during the election but which are now apparently critical to the economic well-being of this province — that the people who get hurt are the most vulnerable? They are the working people of this province; they are the seniors of this province.

I'm the opposition critic for Children and Families. I have yet to even begin to hear the scope of what the impending impact of the HST and the resulting other cuts in services that this government has embarked on is going to do to those particular individuals.

It's fair to say that children in care are there because already they are living in an environment of vulnerability, because those families are already under enormous stress. If their cost of living goes higher, then that is only going to put more burden on this.

I know the children's representative has talked about this, about her concern for children living in poverty, for the children who are in care, for the children who are in foster care, for all of those under the umbrella of the Children and Families Ministry. What's going to be the impact to them of hardship, an economy that is causing hardships in its own right without the addition of an HST and a government bent on all kinds of cuts?

[1520]

It concerns me that day after day I see more and more evidence here that the government's way of dealing with this fiscal challenge they have — this huge deficit that we didn't hear about going into the election a few months ago, 90 days ago, but that we're now hearing about — is…. The throne speech indicated there will be more cuts. There will be more loss of programs.

We've already seen many of them shut down — the leaky condo program. We saw a bunch of seniors here. I went out and talked to those seniors. I talked to those seniors in my community who are very concerned about this program suddenly disappearing. Poof! — it's gone.

Cuts to libraries and schools; 10,000 surgeries cancelled. Some of those have been elsewhere, but we are very fearful about what the impacts will be here in my constituency.

There was a particular week in the Times Colonist where the headlines were remarkable. It would seem to me in lining these up that you'd think these might have been over several months, but this was one day in the Times Colonist: "Premier Defends HST," "Province Shuts Down Tourism Agency," "LiveSmart Program Cancelled," "Government Sitting on Grants to Community Organizations."

On-line gambling. The government has decided, in the midst of all of the hardship and chaos, that it's okay to now up the ante for on-line gambling so that families will feel the impacts of that.

That was one day in the local paper. Not a month, not a year. This is program after program being slashed that affect the people in my community and families right across British Columbia.

I attended the town hall meeting for the B.C. restaurant and food services industry last week and heard from a group of businesses that are normally very supportive of the B.C. Liberals but, in fact, are so deeply angry and outraged by the harmonization sales tax, by the lack of consultation, by the fact that they were told outright by the government prior to the election that this was not on. The HST was not on.

They are feeling so deeply betrayed by the government's actions on implementing the HST that they gathered together to talk about ways that they could stop the government from doing that — not how they could support the B.C. Liberal government, but how they could stop the government from implementing this harmonization tax.

You've got to say to yourself…. I know for a fact that the letters I've got — and I have a cluster of them here…. I picked just a few of the ones where people's lives are going to be most hurt and devastated, but many of these letters have been cc'd to all of the members of the government, certainly to the Finance Minister and the Premier.

It's not like the opposition is the only one hearing over and over again how very unhappy people are about the HST or about the many cuts that the government has already levied that affect their lives. I know that the members on that side of the House are hearing the same degree of concern that the members on this side of the House are.

It was funny, because I heard the Premier say in the last couple of days here that this session…. Why are the
[ Page 82 ]
NDP saying all those negative things? Well, it's not the New Democrats saying all those negative things. It's the people of British Columbia saying all those negative things. That's where the angst is coming from.

The people of B.C. are standing up and saying: "We were tricked. We were not given all the facts going into the election, and we are mad." I know why my constituents in Esquimalt–Royal Roads elected me: to speak for them, to bring their voice here into this Legislature. So when the Premier stands up and says, "Oh, those New Democrats, always just so negative," you know what? It's the voice of the people that he is hearing.

[1525]

I know that he's had enough letters from the same people who have written to me and to every other member of this House about people's concerns.

So you know what, Madam Speaker? The constituents of Esquimalt–Royal Roads elected me to come here and fight on their behalf — to fight for the services that they deserve, to say we don't want to lose our health care services. We don't want cuts to our schools and libraries. We don't want our seniors to be without the services that they deserve.

Frankly, my constituents have said they want a government that is honest. They want to restore honesty and integrity to British Columbia. Unfortunately, they might have to wait a few years for that again.

Frankly, I have heard from my neighbours and my community that they are sick of the Liberal spin, the ineptitude, the manipulation of information and the withholding of facts and details going into the election. They're fed up with a callous government that just wants more from them, because at the end of the day, it's about taking money out of ordinary people's pockets and giving it to big corporations.

I do believe there's some revenue neutrality in this, but that's about ordinary people paying the price and the tax dollars that will be taken out of their households, perhaps out of their food bill if they're a senior, perhaps from their medication bills if they're a senior. Or families will have to make a hard decision about whether they will take their kids to a movie or be able to afford to pay the hydro bill.

All of that is at the expense of the people in my constituency in favour of big corporations, and I am here to stand up and say, no, no, no, on their behalf.

R. Sultan: Thank you to the constituents of North Vancouver and West Vancouver who have returned me to this Legislature for another wonderful four years. I am very indebted to them, and I pledge my hard work to them over the next four years.

I would like to assure these constituents that my brief flirtation with the NDP a couple of days ago, while it was consistent with my "east of Main Street" roots, while it was consistent with my fond memories of my brothers in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, was rather rudely terminated by the deputy clerk, who said it was all a big mistake. But it brought back some good memories.

[C. Trevena in the chair.]

I would like to address the astonishing comments made by the opposition party in response to the Speech from the Throne, in particular, remarks by the Leader of the Opposition.

Yesterday, during question period, what might be termed the warmup to throne, the opposition leader accused this government of turning its back on its election promises, more particularly, its promise of no cuts to health care or other core services.

Now, maybe she had an advanced peek at the budget. I have not. But the Health Minister has already signalled this government's intention to increase Health spending by 1⁄5 over the next three years. Only in the world of NDP math is a 1⁄5 increase a cut.

The same holds true for education, as a matter of fact. According to the opposition leader: "It really is unbelievable to me that the Premier thinks cutting education is a smart thing to do."

The reality is that this government has, since coming into office, increased K-to-12 spending on each and every student by an average of 5 percent a year, year in, year out, and I would be surprised if the budget tabled next week departs from that trend line. As for post-secondary education, since 2001 this government has invested almost $18 billion — a provincial record. Once again, the arithmetic skills by which the NDP discovers cuts are on display.

[1530]

The opposition's unflattering adjectives in response to the Speech from the Throne have so far ranged from the forbidden "l" word to alibi, deceit, distaste, stench, betrayal, bankruptcy and illegitimacy. So much for elevating the tone of this place for the benefit of the school children.

On the issue of the HST, there has been a great parsing of the Finance Minister's daytimer. In the spirit of that famous accusation — what did he know, and when did he know it? — if we're to believe the NDP's version of the life of a Finance Minister, budgets are made and broken weekly or maybe daily, depending on the latest tidbit of economic information.

Housing starts are up this month in the United States. Hold the presses. Projected deficit is going down. Oh, wait a minute. President Obama gave a speech intimating continued closed borders to British Columbia lumber in the United States. The projected deficit is going up.

I was once chief economist of this country's largest financial institution. Once a year, at budget time, did the chief accountant come to my office and ask me my
[ Page 83 ]
opinion of the money supply? Yes, he did. Did he return every week thereafter asking for the latest nuance? No, he didn't.

How does an economist ensure accuracy? Forecast often. Why is he well paid? Forecasting is difficult, particularly of the future. How does an economist live to a ripe old age? Quit before his long-term forecasts come due. And that's what I did.

The Bible says, "Beware of false prophets," Matthew 7:15. And I would add: "…whether they come singly or in a multitude."

So our Finance Minister misjudged the future back in February of this year. Big deal. Welcome to the real world. If I could have forecast everything that's happened between March and today, I would be lighting cigars with $100 bills on the beach at Waikiki. I wouldn't be here getting ready for another cold winter in Canada.

Is the opposition's crystal ball any better? I doubt it. Certainly, they do not seem to be doing any better across the mountains in Alberta, where the provincial treasurer was forced to announce a $15 billion swing adjustment downward in his budget, surplus to negative, including a hasty $2 billion in the most recent quarter.

My serious doubts about the NDP's concept of management are amplified in the context of Budget 2009, the presumed February document of deceit and deception. An election was coming. The government had an obligation to present to the public the world as it saw it and how it would hope to configure its revenues and expenses.

By March the printing presses were rolling. Campaign literature was spewing forth. The pre-writ period was in full swing. The fiscal platform of the government had been declared and debated and analyzed and criticized in the Legislature.

The stage was set for the public to judge who was better able to govern this province in tumultuous times. The public rendered a decisive verdict, and they did not choose the opposition leader's party.

Now, based on a parsing of the Finance Minister's daytimer, they would have the public believe that we were all victims of some sort of financial conspiracy. One of the opposition leader's key lieutenants, the self-described lefty from Nanaimo, is already murmuring about recall. Where I was educated, we had a technical term for all of this: horse feathers.

[1535]

The opposition leader has made a great to-do about small business. She said: "Small business is the economy's backbone. You don't build confidence by ignoring their advice. You build it by listening to them." And again: "Small businesses across the province didn't ask for the HST." And she said that if the Liberals were listening to small business, they certainly didn't hear them.

Well, I beg to differ. For several years, carrying Rick Thorpe's briefcase, I was a participant in the Small Business Roundtable — the assigned topic: how to improve the provincial sales tax. Twenty-one assigned shepherds, from Tony Singh to Sue Adams, accompanied the tour. It went on for three years.

At 43 consultation sessions from Courtenay to Castlegar, attended by well over 1,000 small business persons, the effectiveness of the existing provincial sales tax system was debated. A common small business refrain at these meetings was the plea: "Please get rid of this pesky burden of the PST. Please allow us to fill in only one tax return and not two."

The same suggestion was brought forward by members of the Legislature's Finance Committee — both sides of the House represented, I might add — touring the province in advance of each budget. It was such a commonly bandied idea, the Progress Board issued a special report on it. They applauded it as good public policy, but they didn't think any government would have the fortitude to actually go ahead and implement it.

So the idea of integrating the PST…

Interjections.

Deputy Speaker: Members, Members.

R. Sultan: …and the GST was hardly new, as indeed discovered with triumph by the opposition. Former MLA John Nuraney — my friend John — was probably present for one of those discussions, but I'm also quite sure that our former Deputy Premier, now a talk show host, was not. Her erroneous speculations are forgiven.

The opposition would have us believe that it all boils down to trust. As the opposition leader says: "We're not going to know the real state of the economy until the Auditor General reports out, because I have no faith in any numbers that this government puts forward."

With respect to the opposition leader's lack of trust in published government figures, two images from the past stand out in my memory. The first was the award received by our former Finance Minister Gary Collins from the head of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, who flew out here from Toronto, giving him this plaque for representing the first government in Canada to bring financial reporting in line with generally accepted accounting principles, otherwise known as GAAP, accompanied by applause not only from the member from Chilliwack but from the financial analyst community generally across North America, indeed the world, for our comprehensiveness and transparency and rapidity of British Columbia's financial reporting.

It was astonishing. They were thunderstruck. They had never seen a book of government accounts that they could add up from one end to another: Crown corporations, balance sheet to income statement — on and on
[ Page 84 ]
it went. It all computed, and it was done shortly after the closing of the fiscal year. Quite an accomplishment, I might say, for our civil servants. They were remarkable, and I think they still are.

The second image it conjures up about the same time is the NDP government of one western province, which shall go unnamed, creatively converting a deficit into a surplus through setting aside a paper reserve fund and then drawing on that paper entity the next year to balance the books. Bravo, NDP accountants. Even Enron didn't think of that one. So it does indeed come down to trust, and it was on that basis the recent May election was decided.

[1540]

In that election only half of eligible voters exercised their franchise. The Leader of the Opposition again dwelt on the considerable length of her explanation for why it happened. The voters, fed up with deceit, the "l" word and widespread government treachery, lacking in trust, voted with their feet by not voting. That was the explanation. Well, I have a different interpretation. Voters, satisfied with the economic management of this government in difficult times and suspicious of the abilities of the NDP alternative, were not inclined to throw the rascals out and, perhaps with overconfidence, could not conceive that the other side would ever win, so they stayed home. They trusted us.

Why, I ask, is the NDP not trusted? Let me count the ways. The public does not trust a party which boldly suggests in its alternative budget that it can enjoy more than half a billion of additional revenue than our government had forecasted last January and February.

It doesn't trust a party which promises to match the government in reducing program spending by $1.9 billion and then further reduce spending by another $1.2 billion on top of that. They do not trust a party which airily discussed another $3 or $4 billion of discretionary spending and then, with all of this, somehow balance the budget.

It's been a long time, for those of you who maybe haven't been in Sunday school recently, since the parable of the 5,000 people fed with five loaves of bread and two fishes in the Holy Land, but the NDP apparently believes it can repeat the miracle. Furthermore, the public doesn't trust a party which can't decide whether to endorse a green energy agenda or cater to its fiercely opposed utility union supporters — a terrible dilemma. My heart goes out to them.

The public does not trust a party whose leader asserted yesterday that when the United States catches a cold, we sneeze. Well, actually, it was more likely to be the opposite, I might point out.

The public does not trust a party which denounces HST yesterday in this chamber because of its negative impact on the Harmac mill in Nanaimo when, in fact, the HST is probably the best thing that's happened to keep Harmac going and alive in a long, long time. So the Leader of the Opposition is quite right. The issue is trust. Whom do you trust? The electorate made their choice on May 12…

Interjections.

Deputy Speaker: Order, Members. Members.

R. Sultan: …and I don't believe they will be otherwise inclined next time.

The matter of trust cannot be taken lightly. I am much intrigued by the thoughts of David M. Smick in his recent book The World Is Curved. Smick addresses the breakdown in trust in our financial system globally and nationally. The collapse of these systems of trust through a failure of credibility, a lack of trust, triggered the present economic crisis. I think we can all agree on that. He says:

"Today's global ocean of capital continually measures political risk. Because entrepreneurial capital is highly mobile and forward-looking, it darts across borders at the first signal of even potential negative change. These signals of negative change include signs of class warfare, politicians pitting one income group against the other" — interestingly, as an aside, he's referring particularly to the United States — "and excessive government intervention, including protectionism. Today the world is curved, because the political and financial market worlds increasingly don't understand each other."

However, I believe the public generally understands this. On the matter of trust, the party led by the Leader of the Opposition is not trusted to encourage jobs and investment, since they are stuck repeating the old refrain I heard in the House again yesterday: cake for the rich, crumbs for the poor.

[1545]

On such intellectual foundations, the Leader of the Opposition would build trust among the voters of this province. Well, I don't think the party opposite will succeed.

Deputy Speaker: I'd like to remind members that they will have the opportunity to speak to the throne speech. We've had very good behaviour in this House for other speakers, and I would hope that it continues.

B. Routley: I want to start off by saying to the good folks at Hansard that I've spent the last 18 years speaking out in lunchrooms and in the back of a pickup truck in a marshalling point, so you can forgive me if I stray a little bit from the rules in terms of…. The volume of my voice does go up and down, but I'm going to try and restrain myself.

The first thing I want to do is start out by thanking my family and friends and the supporters and all of the good people, the voters of the Cowichan Valley, who took part in the election. This was the first election in the constituency of Cowichan Valley, and I am both honoured and
[ Page 85 ]
humbled to be elected in the new constituency of the Cowichan Valley.

I want to offer a special thank-you to Doug Routley and John Horgan, who are both outstanding MLAs.

Deputy Speaker: Member, Member. Don't mention names. The member from.

B. Routley: Well, they used to be from…. Okay.

An Hon. Member: The guy who shares my last name.

B. Routley: Yeah, "the guy who shares my last name" works for me.

They're both outstanding MLAs and work tirelessly to represent the people living within what are now the new boundaries that make up the Cowichan Valley constituency.

I want to say it has been a wonderful experience already to represent the people in the communities that I grew up in, to go to schools and to be there with children getting special awards. It has already been a tremendous honour just to be an MLA, and I understand now what a privilege and honour it is to be in this House.

I want to add that I congratulate all MLAs, from whatever party, for being elected. It is indeed a special thing, and good on you for working hard to get elected in the province of British Columbia. I just happen to believe that some of you have your ladder on the wrong wall.

At the end of the day, it's been incredible to represent those folks in the Cowichan Valley. I want to thank my wife especially, who helped me throughout my career, who was there to support me. Charmaine and I started our family in Youbou, and we raised our son Noah and Alisha in Lake Cowichan and Duncan, which are all communities within the Cowichan Valley.

I love the Cowichan Valley. I've spent the majority of my life there, and I hope to spend the rest of my days in the Cowichan region. So it is indeed an incredible and special place, and I'm honoured to be their representative.

To give some context to where I come from, I started my working career back in the 1970s at the Youbou sawmill, so I understand the forest industry from the ground up, from the plant floor. I spent years working my way up through everything from the cleanup man's job to the greenchain, through the planer in the mill, the chip plant, the veneer plant and through the booming ground area.

I enjoyed every bit of my career working with those people, and I have nothing but respect for workers and their families. Again, I will try to do my best to represent my roots and never forget the roots of where I come from.

I have spent the last 18 years serving as president of what was IWA Local 180 in Duncan, with more than 4,000 members when I started out. Today we're down to probably less than 2,000 working.

[1550]

It's a tragedy to see the impact that we've seen on forest workers and their families. But I want to thank all of those workers and their families for the tremendous support that I've had.

I'd like to add that I started out running for election on safety committees back in the 1970s. I have run for election — either for safety committee, safety chairman, plant chairman on to the presidency — every three to four years. Since the mid-'70s I've run for election and been elected by my peers. I believe that's because I listened to their interests. I did my best to represent their interests, and I consulted, first and foremost, with those workers and their families before I made a move.

I never, ever got a letter right after being elected telling me that I'd failed them and that I'd made an absolute disgrace like we're seeing here with this Liberal government. The ink is hardly dry on the fact that people have been elected, and here we are getting all kinds of mail from people in every constituency in British Columbia complaining that they feel misrepresented, misled and deceived by the government of British Columbia that's elected today.

I wanted to carry on by acknowledging in a special way the first nations tribes in the Cowichan Valley and thanking them for sharing their traditional territory with us. The Cowichan Tribes are the single largest first nation in British Columbia. It's been an exceptional experience for me to spend time with Cowichan band elders, to connect with childhood friends like my friend Bob Page, who I grew up with. I'm grateful to have the support of so many Cowichan Tribes members, who I'm honoured and privileged to call friends.

I would like to express my gratitude to the terrific people who worked their hearts out to help in my campaign — people like the campaign manager Calinda Brown, who was federal MP Jean Crowder's campaign manager as well. She had lots of experience and understood the people of the Cowichan Valley.

Laurie Strom, E-day coordinator; James Herata Down; Ellen Oxman, my financial agent; Doug Morgan; Tom Harkins; Diana Brynley; Joan Gillatt, who worked with Tommy Douglas, if you can imagine, back in the 1970s on his federal campaign. I was indeed honoured to have somebody in their 80s working just about every single day on my campaign. Joan is a fixture in the Cowichan Valley and is a tremendous New Democrat.

Carol Gillatt, who happens to be Joan's daughter; Helen Nation; Dee Shooligan; Al Robinson; Faye Griffiths; Trudy Thorgerson; Ann Anderson; Laurie Jordan; Gus Williams; Ed Elliott; Chuck Seymour; Hannah Seymour; Don Gordon, who was also working with me when I became a school trustee back in 1980; Diana Gunderson; Rosemary Danaher; Rick Whiteford; Brian Butler; Jagish Pagely; Kirpal Sandhu; Roger Stanyer; Debra and Gerry Toporowski; and more than 300 others took part in the campaign. I want to thank all of them from the bottom of my heart.
[ Page 86 ]

I would be remiss if I didn't start off by talking about issues like Cowichan Lodge. I'm particularly proud to come from a community that is prepared to fight and defend the elderly. I'm here to tell you that this opposition will continue to fight to defend seniors and all those whose voices are not easily heard.

It's important to understand some of this struggle, but there are some important letters that outline some of the difficulties that we have in the Cowichan Valley. I want to take a moment to read a letter that was sent to the Premier from the Fair Health Care Funding for Cowichan Now.

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"This letter is sent to you by a unified coalition of more than 50 Cowichan Valley health care agencies and non-profit organizations, physicians and community citizens. We are demanding immediate action and resolution of the rapidly escalating health care crisis in the Cowichan Valley. Our coalition has deep concerns about health care funding and the disparities that exist between the Cowichan Valley and Victoria and Nanaimo and about the future of the Cowichan Lodge.

"Statistics from the Vancouver Island Health Authority, VIHA, prove that this funding discrimination has existed for more than ten years. Many of these inequities occurred in the mental health and addictions sectors and have a profound negative impact upon broader services and the community at large. Despite this funding disparity causing unacceptable burdens and pressures on our health care providers, they have still done their best to meet VIHA standards.

"The Ministry of Health and VIHA have completely disregarded the numerous funding proposals submitted by physicians and other service providers and have historically failed to rectify these significant imbalances.

"At this time Victoria has 2.89 beds per thousand of the population. Cowichan has 0.9. Victoria receives $216 per capita, while Cowichan receives $124."

These are from VIHA's own statistics, March 31, 2009.

"Victoria has 800 mental health and addiction beds. Cowichan Valley has 19. Victoria has five assertive community teams, and there are no assertive community teams north of the Malahat.

"VIHA made a unilateral decision to close the Cowichan Lodge despite overwhelming evidence in favour of keeping the facility open. This has caused the loss of vital existing health care services in the community, statistically higher than levels of mortality amongst the senior population involved, and a critical backlog at the Cowichan District Hospital, which, by the way, is operating most days at over-capacity priority 5 level."

It's shameful that this government has allowed this kind of thing to continue, and now they're talking about making it worse.

"Since June 2008 significant efforts have been made by the Cowichan Valley community to avert the Cowichan Lodge closing. It is apparent to the coalition that this closure is a primary contributor to the current critical bottleneck in the Cowichan Valley health care system. VIHA has neglected to properly involve stakeholders despite repeated promises to do so."

This is the record of this government. No consultation. Roll into the community. VIHA comes in and says, "We're shutting down the lodge," with 30 days' notice. Then, after loud howls and protests, they extend it to 60 days. Then, after threats of going to court, they move it to a year. This is the kind of government that we have in British Columbia today — a government that doesn't consult, doesn't listen. The people of Cowichan Valley are fed up, and they got it right in the election. They understood what they were doing full well.

Another letter I want to read is to give a face to some of the hard-working care providers that are there in the Cowichan Lodge. All those years that they worked and served seniors in our community, and they were just ignored, told one day: "You've got 30 days to pack your bags and get out."

That's the kind of government we have across the table. No consultation. Almost no notice. After years of sacrifice they roll into town with their flunkies and tell the community: "We don't care what you think. We're pushing you out and your seniors along with it."

[1600]

This is a letter from Kathy Sharp, who worked at the Cowichan Lodge. She said just recently:

"As I was working this week at Walden House, it was with bittersweet feelings that I felt inside. Walden House was given a reprieve until the spring by VIHA. But as I would go back and forth from the lodge" — Cowichan Lodge — "to Walden House, I would walk by the Price's Alarm truck knowing that it was there because of things to come."

In recent weeks, by the way, the Cowichan Lodge has been closed.

She goes on:

"I realized when I started there as a fresh-faced 22-year-old, unsure of what I wanted to be when I grew up, that now I have spent more than half my life there and have gone through the death of a parent, a sister, marriage, divorce and all kinds of life challenges with the love and support of co-workers and lifelong friends I have made there.

"I have helped my co-workers celebrate their marriages and the births of their children, have drunk tea with the seniors and have loved so many of the residents. One could even say thousands. And I've listened to their stories, what made their lives unique to each of them.

"We can't really say it was just seniors because, in the end, they were seniors and much more."

They care deeply about these seniors.

"We had former co-workers who became sick whom we helped, who lived and died there. Not many people can say that. We were the heart and soul. It is now just an empty building with empty rooms and the blinds pulled shut, waiting to be closed. What will become of it? We will wait as the tangle of red tape decides.

"My work at the Cowichan Lodge and being part of such an experience has been an honour and has taught me many things in life that I would have never learned anywhere else. Cowichan Lodge will never be the same. The flavour that made the Cowichan Lodge what it is, is now gone. No matter what the place becomes, it can never be what we had.

"I hope that somehow we at Walden House can attempt to go on and honour those that put so much of themselves and their lives into making the Lodge home for those that needed that extra bit of help."

She concludes, and I want to add to her words the same thought:

"Thank you to all who lived, loved and fought for the Cowichan Lodge. Gratefully and respectfully, Kathy Sharp."

This government should be ashamed of themselves that they came into our community and took those kinds of actions. You put people through the kind of stress….
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And our seniors — you might as well have attacked them. It's unacceptable, the kinds of actions that this government has taken to hurt seniors. Government is supposed to be there to help, not hurt, our seniors.

Closing the Cowichan Lodge did not make ethical or fiscal sense. It was a decision that hurt so many people in the community, but this government doesn't seem to do what makes sense. They do exactly what they want and with no regard for people of this province and of communities in the Cowichan Valley, and that is unacceptable. We don't accept it on this side of the House, and we're going to continue to fight for our seniors.

I want to talk about the other things going on in health care in the Cowichan Valley. I want to talk about Matthew Leeming who, just at the end of July, on July 30, fell down the stairs. Now, this could be happening anywhere in British Columbia, but this happened with Matthew Leeming who is over 65.

[1605]

He fell down the stairs, and instead of going to the phone and phoning the ambulance — because he was bleeding profusely — he managed to get himself to the hospital. And you know what he was told? "Bring out your gold card and take a seat over here." He ended up with 19 stitches, and he was told by somebody working there, which I just can't believe that they would suggest: "You're making quite a mess on the floor."

That's the kind of health care we've got in the province of British Columbia. The conditions are so poor and the hospitals so jammed that people start to be uncompassionate with other folks. Somebody coming in bleeding all over the floor gets told: "You're making quite a mess on the floor."

That's unacceptable. And it could happen to you. Anybody in this House, it could happen to you today or tomorrow, and we should think about what we're doing. I ask you; I plead with you. Think about what you're doing. Make sense. Our hospitals are important to the people of British Columbia, and we can't….

Deputy Speaker: I'd like to remind the member to address his remarks through the Chair.

B. Routley: Hon. Chair, people are suffering and in pain. This government is not helping. They're hurting British Columbians, and it's got to stop.

I heard some of the folks on the other side talk about the forest industry and how this is good for the forest industry and mining and for oil and gas. Well, well, well. I guess it is. I just guess and bet it is. This government has a litany of experiences in destroying forest communities starting in 2003.

I remind you that I come from the shop floor. I know who this government should be representing, and that's the people of the Cowichan Valley — the workers, the families, the communities, the small businesses — not big corporations. But Rick Jeffrey from the Coastal Employers Coalition would have been high-fiving the Premier of the province, saying: "Right on." He said in the paper: "We've been talking about this for years."

You know what? They're some of the biggest contributors to the Liberal Party. Oil and gas, the forest companies, mining — they're all there, and it is payback time. That's what's going on in British Columbia.

We can't have the corporatization of British Columbia. We can't have our province sold off to the lowest bidder. We can't have our rivers and streams given away. It's an outrage what's going on, and the people of British Columbia have finally….

There are a lot of folks that voted for you people that have finally woke up and smelled the coffee, because they're saying: "What were we thinking? Look at what they've done to us."

Deputy Speaker: I'd remind the member. I know it's his main speech, but be careful on how he frames his language.

B. Routley: Okay. I'm working on framing it a little better.

I'm talking about framing. The lumber — there isn't going to be one more stick of lumber sold as a result of the actions of this government. They say that giving away $140 million, taking it right out of the pockets of the poor and seniors and people on fixed income. Oh, that's a great idea. You might as well be standing at the end of the grocery line pulling out their groceries and running off and selling them somewhere.

That's the reality in British Columbia. It is payback time, and we're rewarding the biggest corporations. I like corporations, by the way. We've got to have corporations. Oh yeah. I've sat in rooms with them. People like Herb Doman and Rick Doman, wonderful corporate citizens that helped build the Cowichan Valley.

You know what Herb Doman used to tell me? He said: "I don't have any interest in exporting logs, because exporting logs is exporting jobs." He got it, but this government doesn't seem to get it.

[1610]

You've collected over $372 million in softwood lumber tariffs — $372 million. What is there for forest workers and their families? Nothing. Zero. That's how you treat forest workers and their families. There were no additional funds for transition programs for forest workers that needed the help — no help at all. Unbelievable. At the same time, you're giving your pals a huge gift.

Deputy Speaker: Member, through the Chair. Don't use the word "you."

B. Routley: Hon. Chair, at the same time, this government has handed a gift of $140 million to the forest
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companies. It's not going to sell one more stick of lumber, not a single piece. It's not going to put any forest workers back to work. How on earth do they think that's going to happen?

They've been wrong on every single policy idea. They have disconnected communities from our forest land, and it has resulted in more than 50 plants closed. That's your record. That's the real record of this government: shutting down mills and exporting logs. That's what we've got going on here.

You know, I presided over bankruptcies and mill closures, and I saw what it did, not only to the workers but to the once-proud companies. I sat with Donald Hayes, who used to be one of the Premier's pals, who said that he has given up on the forest industry because it's all been consolidated. There's one big monopoly, and it just isn't working.

Even the truck loggers in British Columbia, that used to be profitable…. Shame on this government. We had Munns, Madill, Leroy and Hayes all go bankrupt in the last few years. That is the record of this government. That is the record: putting people out of work — no programs, no help.

I read that the government of British Columbia put $880 million into a convention centre, while people from resource communities throughout British Columbia are suffering. The legacy of this government is a wonderful convention centre. I read that it's got more than 48 miles of pipe on the roof to water the grass. We're going to water the grass, and a few miles away, there are poor living under cardboard boxes.

That is a legacy of this government. They allow people to live in poverty, to have more and more children living in poverty, and we're going to have…. Talk about a legacy of deceit, a legacy of deception, a legacy of hurt and pain for the most vulnerable people of British Columbia — the poor and the disabled. That's where you're going to cut programs from so that you can have more cement and rebar and asphalt. That's the legacy of this government: cement, rebar, and asphalt. Shameful.

We're here to represent people of British Columbia, not corporations. If you've got a heart anywhere in there, I ask you to think twice about what you're going to do. The HST is bad for British Columbians. It's picking the pockets of the people who can least afford it so that you can hand over the cash by the bundle-full. Hockey socks full of money to the big corporations. Shame on you. It's unacceptable.

I am upset, to say the least, that the people in the Cowichan Valley wanted…. You know what our highest record right now is? We're one of the communities that has the highest level of children living in poverty — more than 20 percent. We've got a province with the worst poverty record in British Columbia. There's no action, no action whatsoever, to help children, and this province….

[1615]

What are we doing with education? We're shutting down school after school. More than 177 schools have closed. In our community alone, we've seen Cowichan Station Rural Traditional School closed in 2007. Yount Elementary School closed in 2007. Stanley Gordon School closed in 2003. Mount Breton School closed in 2002. Sahtlam Annex closed in 2002. Honeymoon Bay closed in 2002, and this is a school that this government had invested money in.

Same thing with Cowichan Lodge. They invested money in an application to help seniors get out of bed one year, and the next year they're announcing that the place is suddenly run down and we've got to close it down. It's unacceptable.

D. McRae: I'm humbled to stand here today and give my first key speech in the Legislature as the newly elected MLA for Comox Valley. I was born and raised in the Comox Valley and, upon completion of my university training, had the good fortune to return to the valley, begin my professional career and marry my high school sweetheart, Deanne Webber. Our proudest accomplishment to date was the birth of our first child, Gracie Ava, who is six years old. She will soon have some competition, as during the election campaign Deanne had to keep the hardest secret of her life. Our second child is due November 25.

If we could all just agree to work a little bit harder and stay focused, it would come as a great relief to my wife if we could get out of here in time for the baby's birth. I'll bring you all pictures.

You'll hear many MLAs stand up here and say their community is the most beautiful, the most vibrant, the most special place in British Columbia. But with all due respect, they obviously haven't spent time in the Comox Valley.

The Comox Valley has a special distinction of also having the largest number of voters of any electoral district in the province. The people of the Comox Valley definitely exercised their democratic rights in 2009, and I'm proud to be here to represent all the residents of the Comox Valley.

The Comox Valley is made up of a number of unincorporated and incorporated communities. The agricultural areas of Black Creek and Merville are a mecca of agricultural activity. Royston, which began as a staging port for the local logging industry in the early 1900s, is still a beautiful area today. Proud Union Bay was built as a staging port to send coal around the British Empire and supply the royal navy, and it's still there today.

We also have the creative and self-reliant communities of Denman and Hornby islands, the most northerly of the Gulf Islands. Cumberland has a rich coalmining history and now touts itself as a village in the forest and has one of the quaintest main streets on Vancouver Island.
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Comox, the town by the sea, has an unsurpassed view looking west to the Comox glacier as the sun sets. The city of Courtenay, which has grown to become the cultural centre of the Comox Valley, is truly a lovely place.

For the past eight years the B.C. Liberal government has shown its commitment to improving the economy in British Columbia. Small business, personal and corporate taxes have been lowered, making this province one of the most competitive places to do business in North America.

We recognize that the services and programs offered by the province are paid for by a vibrant economy. However, B.C. is not the centre of the universe, as much as we would like to think so. The province is geographically larger than France, and our population is smaller than Denmark. We are dependent on foreign markets and the fluctuations of the world's economy.

While it would be nice, we are not able to predict the drop of the province's resource-generated revenue. The estimates of corporate and personal income tax revenue are just that, until the federal government forwards the actual amounts to the province. Combined with a decrease in provincial sales tax revenue, we are faced with a $2.2 billion decrease in government revenues, and this was not predicted.

B.C. will bounce back in the near future. Most economists predict that the province will lead the nation in economic growth in 2010 and will recover faster than any other province in Canada. However, when it comes to managing the economy and the public's tax dollars, we must be fiscally prudent.

Like the member for West Vancouver–Capilano so ably stated, the HST is good policy, but it is not popular politics. We as a government were elected to do what is right, not what is easy. We were elected to build a strong economy in British Columbia.

[1620]

If you look across Canada, the HST debate is in other places. In Manitoba we see an NDP government considering the HST, but the provincial Conservative Party is against it. In Ontario we see a centre-left Liberal Party bringing in the HST, but both the NDP and the Conservative parties are against it. In B.C. we have the NDP against the HST.

Why are so many governments moving towards the HST? Because it is the right thing to do. Why are so many opposition parties against the HST? Because it is a popular thing to do, but does not supply the answers we need in the province of British Columbia today.

It takes strong leadership to make tough decisions like this tax shift. Some say that we shouldn't make this shift during these tough economic times, but tough economic times call for a new way of doing business. The opposition will spend their time in this House criticizing this government's economic policies, but will they offer sound advice as to what can be done to assist this province to emerge out of the economic recession? This session will prove that answer.

The HST will encourage job creation and investment in this province. The forest industry, manufacturing, transportation, mining and oil and gas sectors will all benefit. These will provide employment for the province of British Columbia. The best thing we can do is to encourage private sector companies to continue to invest in this province. They will improve wages, increase employment and ensure that B.C. remains competitive both on a national and an international level.

In the throne speech the government has continued to support a wood-first policy. All public buildings are to use wood as their default building material. There are few people who have failed to be impressed by the Vancouver Convention Centre, though I can think of one, and its feature walls of B.C. hemlock. Even in my hometown of Courtenay the local library has been built using wood as a feature project, and as a result, we have won design awards and have been community leaders in the Comox Valley and around British Columbia.

The government of B.C. has also shown a great willingness to work with the first nations community in an attempt to reach a negotiated settlement between the Crown and the first nations. When successful, the agreement will provide more certainty for both the first nations and the investment community. This will make the province an even more attractive place to do business for all our citizens.

In the riding of Comox Valley, the Comox First Nation have lived on Vancouver Island for thousands of years. Their rich cultural heritage is experiencing a resurgence, and they're an essential component of life in the Comox Valley. In the Comox bay there is evidence of over 1,200 years of fishing. The fishing weirs make up an estimated 200,000 stakes that reflect both the size and sophistication of the first nation society that has existed in the Comox Valley for so long.

More work must be done before the recognition and reconciliation act is introduced in the Legislature, but the government is clearly indicating that this is an important priority, and we will continue to pursue new solutions to achieving the goal of negotiating land and resource agreements where they do not exist today.

In the throne speech the government committed to ensuring that fresh water remains an important resource in British Columbia. Water, as we all know, is the lifeblood of every community. Given enough money, we can treat sewage, we can build roads, and we can deal with garbage, but fresh water cannot be manufactured. Without a secure supply of quality water, communities cannot grow and thrive.

In the Comox Valley, water is drawn from a number of sources, depending on the community. Some of the infrastructure is very old. Some of the infrastructure is limited. Currently the Comox Valley has embarked
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on a government-mandated regional growth strategy and water master plan. This is forward-thinking. Fresh water is often a resource taken for granted by people, but with solid planning and good environmental protection policies B.C. will ensure our people have access to the resource for generations to come.

The environment has been and continues to be an important pillar of the government of British Columbia. Many communities have passed versions of cosmetic chemical ban bylaws. The government will consult with residents of the province to gain an understanding of the wishes of people. The people of the Comox Valley, like many communities, will be given a chance to express their views on this issue and provide guidance for future government action.

During the past election green energy was another major issue. The government of British Columbia is committed to ensuring that residents have access to reliable, clean energy. We no longer have the means to be an energy-self-sufficient province based on infrastructure, much of which was built before I was born. I am rather young. It is time to renew this asset in British Columbia.

B.C. has the third-lowest electricity rates in North America. This has resulted in the province having the envious position to attract investment to our region, but too often we are forced now to import power from coal-generating plants from beyond our province when our hydro dams do not have the ability to keep up with demand. By attracting wind, tidal and run-of-the-river power projects, B.C. will retain its competitive advantage into the future.

[1625]

Furthermore, by concentrating on green energy, the province is showing leadership in the global fight to limit the human impact on climate change, not only here but around the world.

Climate change is posed to directly impact my home riding, like all of our ridings. In the Comox riding our most scenic landmark is the majestic Comox Glacier. Experts state that the glacier could be extinct within 40 years. Not only will the Comox Valley lose its distinctive icon, but it will also have a serious impact on the region's drinking water supply. The glacier acts as a storage facility for drinking water, releasing water to meet the community's summer needs before the fall rains return.

[H. Bloy in the chair.]

As some of you may know, I'm a high school teacher; I've been so for the past 15 years. As a parent of a young child in the elementary system and as a father expecting the birth of our second child, I'm pleased that the provincial government is committed to both improving graduation rates for student and providing the opportunity for all-day kindergarten.

It is important that the students graduating from B.C. schools are also prepared for the challenges they will face as they enter the modern workforce. Post-secondary training is essential if young people want to be competitive in the modern job market. To meet the needs of these graduating students, the government has created thousands of new spaces for those wishing to continue their post-secondary training.

Any of us who have been parents have both shed a tear and given a quiet cheer when we send our children off on their first day of kindergarten. We're excited to see them begin a new stage of their lives, learn new things, have new experiences. But many parents also know the challenges of having the child in half-day kindergarten. If parents work, it is often difficult for the children to go from kindergarten to day care.

For many young students, they have already spent many years in full-time day care or preschool, and they do not need the staged transition as they enter full-day kindergarten. Students can also enjoy the benefits of socialization, play, independence and learning that they will gain by spending the entire day at school. The province of British Columbia is again showing leadership in moving towards this program in September of 2010.

The province of British Columbia is truly fortunate to have the opportunity to host the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Twelve years ago when the province started down the path, thanks to great vision by people like Arthur Griffiths we were given the opportunity that would introduce British Columbia to the world.

The opportunities that the Olympic and Paralympic Games will provide this province are truly staggering. The venues that were needed to be built to host the games were built on time and are a legacy for this province. Can you imagine B.C. today without the iconic Science World and Canada Place building? The construction of the Vancouver Convention Centre, the speed skating oval, the Whistler sliding structure and the new curling facility will serve the residents of British Columbia well for years to come.

Can you imagine what would happen with transportation if the Coquihalla had never been built? Well, with the construction of the Canada line and the improvements to the Sea to Sky Highway, people will be able to move more safely and more efficiently in British Columbia.

But while we often concentrate on the benefits that the Olympic and Paralympic Games will bring to Whistler and the Lower Mainland, communities from around the province are seeing the spinoffs from the games. The Comox Valley and the Mount Washington ski hill are working hard to bring the Olympic spirit to our area.

Twenty-two teams have selected the Comox Valley as their training grounds for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We have attracted two World Cup
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Paralympic events, and the community even helped fundraise to bring over the entire Mongolian Paralympic team to compete. Mind you, there was only one athlete, but we had the whole team.

With the knowledge that it would attract teams to train on Mount Washington, major efforts were made to improve the ski hills, trail network, and its biathlon and training facilities. This will be a lasting legacy for the Comox Valley and will encourage people to pursue a healthy lifestyle.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games have already brought in over $1 million of investment to my riding, and this will increase as the games draw near. Everything from site construction to restaurant meals have helped stimulate our local economy, and I know that many regions in this province have also benefited from the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

As I draw to a close my first major speech in the Legislature, I want to express a sincere thanks to all the people who have helped me to attain this great honour. I extend a special thank-you to Marg Grant and Kevin Tevington for all the skills, energy and guidance they've given me. Without their help and the help of many others, I would not be here today.

I also wish to thank my parents, Doug and Beth McRae; my in-laws, Ron and Lorraine Webber; and most of all, my amazing wife, Deanne, who has allowed me to take on this role as MLA; and my daughter Gracie, who I miss not seeing every day. But I'll see her tonight, and I'll take her to the beach tomorrow.

[1630]

Mr. Speaker, you changed on me. I should look up more often, I suppose.

On that, I'd like to thank this assembly for having the opportunity to give my speech today and the goodwill it's shown towards me.

M. Mungall: It is my honour today to rise for the very first time as the first woman to represent Nelson-Creston in this House. Of course, the path that led to this seat today was not travelled lightly, nor was it travelled alone. It was with tremendous responsibility and it is with tremendous care that I undertake the task of representing my constituents. It was with tremendous responsibility and energy that they joined me on the journey here.

By being a part of this election, people from all walks of life didn't just take part in the democratic process. No, by being involved, by participating in an election — that's what makes the democratic process. Because at the end of the day, democracy isn't just about E-day and who wins at eight o'clock at night. It's actually about the people who participate. I'm proud to say that many, many people in Nelson-Creston participated in this election.

Some of the people that were most near and dear to me during that time. There were countless volunteers, but I have to recognize, of course, my wonderful partner, Zak, who believed in me, not just with his words but with his actions and his tireless work throughout what was a yearlong campaign.

My friends Laurie, Colleen, Mybrit, Susan, Mike, both Melanies, Gary and Erica — they all humbled me with their incredible level of volunteerism. There was Nicole, with her steady hand as campaign manager, and Kate, with her sharp communication skills. My local NDP family — Anne, Della, Donna, Greg, Janis, Holly, John, Marion and, of course, Alex. They were all there working tirelessly — long, long days — to be a part of, to be the democratic process.

Like I said, there were countless others who joined me at the doors, on the phones and in the office, and so many others have that same story to tell today. Together we lived and we breathed grass-roots democracy, and our efforts were certainly appreciated by the voters.

There's one person that I would be remiss not to specifically speak about, and that is, of course, my predecessor, the very legendary Corky Evans. He held this seat for 14 years, and without a doubt, he is a legend of this House. His passionate speeches and creative problem-solving benefited the people of British Columbia.

He was so significant and so memorable in all that he did, and I feel privileged to hear the stories that people have had to share with me in the last few months. He is my friend, he is my neighbour, and I am very lucky to have him as a mentor.

As the new MLA for Nelson-Creston, though, I'm not here to fill his shoes. There are a few reasons for this, but the most notable one is that I would look very ridiculous in a pair of men's size 11 shoes. So I bring my own.

But I will point out that Corky and I do have the same shoemaker. We are both committed to democracy, to justice, to peace. We both believe that every single person matters, and that means that every single person deserves — they have the right — to live with dignity.

My predecessor and I — we share the same passion, and we share the same drive for a better British Columbia. This House can rest assured that I bring a determined voice for the well-being of the good people of Nelson-Creston and for every single British Columbian.

[1635]

This brings me to a particular story. Now, we all have stories from our campaign trails. This one was just days before the May 12 election, and it hit me hard.

By this time, of course, I had heard so many stories of avoidable tragedies, injustices and unfairness in relation to the last eight years of the Liberal government that I walked with a heavy heart but, nonetheless, galvanized in my determination for a better British Columbia.

So I was at a Creston barbecue, and I was standing there talking on the phone, coming up with some great strategies, some great ideas with my campaign team on, if we made government, what we could do to make that better British Columbia. I saw a young woman approach
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me, and she was quite pale. It was clear that it took an awful lot of energy for her to make that step towards me.

She and her husband came down to the barbecue to tell me about what had happened to them, and they were looking for help because they had nowhere else to turn. Heather Dugdale's husband lost his job in the forestry sector like so many people have on this government's watch, and now he was reliant on EI. What was interesting is that he looked at the glass half full. It gave him some more time to look after his wife, who was disabled with a terminal illness — a rare, rare disability, in fact.

However, the big problem was that they just couldn't afford it. Heather's medication and care needs, of course, are costly. She had been on B.C.'s disability benefits. But in 2002 there were some new rules instituted by this government. And those new rules instituted by the people across the way said that her disability cheques would be reduced dollar for dollar based on her husband's — her husband of two weeks — EI cheques. So not only were they suddenly faced with considerably less funds to meet their growing cost of living, but what really troubled me was that Heather was no longer a person in her own right.

The system set up by this Liberal government declared her a dependent in 2009 — a dependent on her husband, unable to access the supports she needs because she's married. What a throwback. What a throwback to a time that I've only read about. We are in 2009, and the last time I checked, women are independent people. How dare we be considered unable to have financial security in our own right.

What reinforced her status as a dependent on her husband and not a person in her own right was when they went to the small Creston Service B.C. centre. They were told that she would once again be eligible for her disability benefits that she rightly deserved. Remember, she's got a rare disability that is terminal. They were told that she would once again be eligible if they got a divorce. If they got a divorce, Heather could live that dignified life.

Now, the front-line worker there wasn't malicious at all. She didn't say this maliciously. She was just being honest. Unfortunately, the throne speech the other day clearly stated that such honesty at the front lines in the civil service doesn't get rewarded by this government, because they only value the opposite.

Back to the story. Here we have Heather Dugdale being told that only if she got a divorce would she be eligible in her own right for disability benefits. I would ask that the members of this House imagine, just imagine, what it would be like to seek help, only to find out that the solution was to divorce your brand-new, wonderful, loving, caring spouse.

[1640]

I have no doubt that not a single one, not a single member, on the other side of the House has ever been told that they should divorce their spouse in order to access B.C. programs that they deserve, and I am sure that any woman on the other side of the House would be aghast to find out that the system no longer recognizes your individuality if you are married, because that's exactly what happened to Heather.

The thing about Heather's story is that it is so indicative of how B.C. has lost its way in the past eight years, directed by this government. We are stumbling on the democratic path because rather than prioritize people — which, as I said, is the essence of democracy — they focus on bottom lines, numbers and money. They have got blinders on, and people don't matter.

Repeatedly shutting down debate, instituting major policy decisions and financial schemes without any discussion, blindsiding the entire province, offering information incongruent with the facts and breaking promises are the legacy of the last eight years, right alongside the most humiliating position as the worst province in Canada for child poverty five years running.

Then we have homelessness. This is a particular issue that I've worked on for several years, whether running a local food bank and feeding those…. Those numbers are going up. In the last few months have been some of the highest numbers that our local food banks and soup kitchens in Nelson, British Columbia have ever seen. Over a thousand visits in a town of 10,000.

Homelessness has gone up by nearly 400 percent under their watch. I've heard other members across the floor tell me: "Aren't we so lucky to be in British Columbia as opposed to other countries, like those in Africa." I've worked in Africa. I've worked with people living in poverty in Africa. I've worked with people living in poverty here in North America, right here in our rural communities. Poverty is not acceptable whether it's on this continent, in this province, or whether it's in Africa, and this government should be absolutely ashamed that they've let it explode in the last eight years.

What kind of measure of prosperity do these people have? What kind of measure of prosperity, when the numbers are escalating, exploding at exponential rates? People are suffering and living in cardboard boxes under bridges, and that is not a measure that we should be proud of when we start measuring the wealth and benefits of our province. Yes, those people do matter. They matter, and I could only wish that the people across the way thought so.

It is clear from this summer and this Speech from the Throne that the Liberals are staying on the same course of devastation and suffering for some of the most vulnerable people, and they're increasing that number. That's exactly what their plan is for the next four years. It's very clear, very clear from this Speech from the Throne.
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Because the care for people has been so minimal under this government, it is clear that they do not run a democracy, that they're not interested in running a democracy. What they're interested in, and what they only wish to do, is run an economy. You know what? They have run an economy — right into the ground. The funny thing is that running an economy into the ground is exactly what happens when you ignore people in favour of dollars, especially dollars for your corporate friends.

[1645]

In forgetting that everyone, every single person, matters and that the economy is about wealth for all, not merely a few friends, you create an unsustainable system that costs us taxpayers more.

It costs British Columbians more to leave people homeless rather than to house them. Their own studies tell us that. It costs British Columbia more to leave seniors neglected than to increase home support. It costs B.C. more to cut student aid and make post-secondary education inaccessible rather than train people and prepare our economy for the jobs of tomorrow.

It costs citizens more when you give away their control over resources, privatize our utilities and denigrate environmental standards so that they are meaningless for future generations. It costs B.C. more to slash public, quality child care, community supports and job-creating arts funding and tourism funding. That's what costs B.C. more.

To this list of costing us more, I'll tell you what the voters of Nelson-Creston said. What they said loud and clear was: "No more." No more excuses for a lack of a surgeon at Kootenay Lake Hospital. No more private power production off of our rivers and creeks. No more neglect of farmers and agriculture. And no more careless, shoot-from-the-hip governing. If the voters of Nelson-Creston could have said this during the election, like so many others in British Columbia today, they would have said no way and no more to the Liberals' latest tax grab — the HST.

Instead of the tired, old way of business put forward so clearly in the Speech from the Throne, Nelson-Creston voted for a new way of thinking and a new type of leadership. A new leadership that believes in a society where everyone has the opportunity to realize their right to live in dignity. A new leadership that believes in an economy that nurtures our well-being and creates environmental sustainability. A new leadership that does that environmental sustainability and at the very same time puts people before profits. A new leadership that values public control over public resources to protect the public interest.

The Nelson-Creston voters voted for a new leadership built on principles instead of corporate persuasion. To be sure, the Nelson-Creston voters chose a new and a democratic leadership, and they will fight, because that's what they do. They will fight this government's hidden agendas and broken promises that are now coming to light despite the rhetoric from the throne speech.

That is exactly why I'm here. Bringing forward the voice of people tucked away in beautiful, mountain communities of this province, so far from this House, allows me to bring forward my constituents' creativity, innovation and dreams for the future.

In the Lardeau Valley they dream of good-paying jobs. Potential lies in arts, culture and tourism. Where are those dollars now? They've been cut. And with the HST proposal, the potential is fizzling out.

Salmo's library is a centre where many workers laid off from the forestry sector in the last three years have improved their literacy. Literacy — that's a basic skill for so many of the jobs today. They've improved their computer skills, another basic skill for the jobs of today, and they have learned to apply personal creativity to self-employment opportunities.

[1650]

Well, despite the cuts that this government has for our libraries, we're hoping to keep it open.

In Nelson we're picking up the tab for a CT scanner, a basic diagnostic tool. We have been asking for one for the last eight years, and they came back and said: "Get it yourself." "Okay," we said. "If that's the only way we can do it, we will." It's that type of courage and determination that defines Nelson.

Crawford Bay is celebrating its new LEED standard school, and Ymir its new park. Those two things, the school and the park, are a reality not because this government finally chipped in but because of the tenacity and the dedication and the commitment and the innovation of the people who live there. They're the ones who made it happen, and while these people try to take credit for it, we know that it is people in communities that make that happen.

Yahk is building community and local economy through tourism-driven initiatives. We're wondering how the HST is going to impact them. Kaslo is exploring new concepts for affordable housing for seniors. Creston farmers are increasing local food security and reducing regional carbon emissions and, I dare say, showing the rest of British Columbia and showing this government what real action on climate change is through our regionwide grain community-shared agriculture system.

I am incredibly fortunate. I am incredibly fortunate to come from a region whose resilience and determination and perseverance through the difficulties rendered in supposed good economic times have prepared us to deal with the tough economic times. I intend to bring that resilience, that determination, that perseverance and the passion and the dedication and the ability to fight for what's right, to fight for every person being able to live a dignified life — to live in dignity. I will be bringing that to this House.
[ Page 94 ]

Our path is a democratic one, and our plan is to build a better B.C.

T. Lake: It is indeed an honour and a privilege to be making my first speech in this esteemed place, where, as my predecessor, the hon. Claude Richmond, so rightly pointed out in his final speech this past spring, only a very few British Columbians have had the opportunity to serve.

Despite the exhortations of the member for Nelson-Creston, everyone that runs for office, I have no doubt, cares about their constituents and the people of British Columbia.

I know that I follow in my father's footsteps, Morrie Lake, now retired in Kelowna, who was a two-time alderman in the community of Peachland in the 1970s. He cared for his community. He was the prime proponent of a seniors facility in that community, and I'm proud to follow in his footsteps.

I know that all of my colleagues on all sides of the House have mentors in their lives who showed a caring and compassionate attitude towards their communities and wanted to work to serve their communities. I think all of us would agree we are here for the right reasons.

[1655]

It's not just an honour but a very humbling experience to follow in the footsteps of Mr. Claude Richmond, who gave so much to public service for many, many years, including 20 years as a member of the Legislature. He held many cabinet positions and indeed was the hon. Speaker from 2001 to 2005. I hope that I can but merely emulate to a small degree the skill, respect and sense of humour that Claude brought to this House. I know that all members will join me in wishing Claude and Pat a very happy retirement as they travel across North America in their huge RV, with Claude, I'm sure, entertaining everyone along the way.

I'm also thankful to Claude for his former constituency assistant, Linda Friesen, who now is my constituency assistant, working hard alongside Robert Scherf for the people of Kamloops–North Thompson.

Unlike the hon. Claude Richmond, who was born in the beautiful community of Blue River and who grew up in Kamloops, I'm a relative newcomer to the Thompson valleys, arriving with my beautiful spouse, Lisa, and our three young girls, Shannon, Stephanie and Gemma in 1997. The reasons for that move were an opportunity to teach at the then University College of the Cariboo in the animal health technology program and because I had heard for at least 20 years from high school friends who had moved to Kamloops long ago that it was the best place to raise a family. You know what? They were right.

I consider myself very lucky to have taught at UCC. I'm proud that I am still a faculty member at what is now Thompson Rivers University. I must say also that as a proud member of the veterinary profession, I thoroughly enjoyed active practice, primarily at my veterinary practice in Coquitlam before moving to Kamloops but also working around the province in practices for colleagues who were taking a well-deserved vacation.

As the owner of Coquitlam Animal Hospital at a time when we were new parents, new homeowners and, in fact, new puppy owners, it was just a bit stressful, as I'm sure it is for every small business owner. I recall losing more than a few nights of sleep worrying about how I was going to pay the bills for employee wages, for rent and utilities and suppliers, but with hard work and, of course, a busy scalpel, we made our practice successful.

That same success is repeated over and over again in British Columbia, thanks to policies that strengthen the economy, creating more jobs and leaving more money in people's pockets. Our economy and, in fact, job creation relies on successful businesses. As outlined in the Speech from the Throne earlier this week, the HST will mean stronger investment, more business, and that, quite frankly, means more jobs.

Meanwhile, $1.6 billion from the federal government will ensure that the protection of health care and education that British Columbians have come to expect will continue, with a 20 percent increase in health care funding over the next three years.

I would like to talk just a little bit about the riding of Kamloops–North Thompson — how the people of this constituency will face the many challenges outlined so well in the Speech from the Throne and how their energy, enthusiasm, hard work and optimism will produce a bright and prosperous future.

As my colleague the hon. Minister for Tourism, Culture and the Arts knew so well in his formidable role as the former MLA for part of this new Kamloops–North Thompson riding, our folks are tough. They have faced adversity in the past, most notably in 2003 with the memorable wildfires which burned homes and businesses and displaced thousands of people. But they did not stand by. With the help of the provincial government, community leaders and in fact many, many regular British Columbians across the province, they rebuilt their homes and have embarked on an economic plan for a diversified future.

I'd like to thank the Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts for his service and for his constituency assistants, June Phillips and Christine Card, who have made such a great transition to the new redistribution of our riding and who looked after the people of Kamloops–North Thompson so well.

While the people of the North Thompson Valley have worked with government to implement recommendations of the Filmon report, as they're rebuilding their communities, they've looked to the future and said: "How can we prevent this from happening?" They have done that. They have worked to prevent interface areas
[ Page 95 ]
from becoming fuel accumulation areas. They have implemented many of those recommendations to protect their communities from future wildfire threats.

[1700]

In fact, Kamloops Fire Rescue has talked about the interface work done in and around the city of Kamloops over the past four years through the UBCM money from the provincial government that has enabled them to space trees, to limb trees to a height of three metres. Small fires that have started over the past few years in Kamloops have been extinguished quickly and efficiently without spreading into subdivisions, thanks to the interface program that's been a part of this government's policy.

This summer, of course, we've seen other communities that have been affected by wildfires, and I'm proud to say that many constituents of Kamloops–North Thompson have volunteered to house, feed and care for the evacuees, particularly from the Kelowna and Lillooet areas.

Today we're thinking about the communities of Clinton and those communities around Sorrento, where wildfires continue to threaten homes. I know all members will join me in commending the brave women and men of the B.C. Forest Service, along with firefighters, police, local governments and volunteers that have battled all summer and continue to battle to keep our communities safe from wildfires in British Columbia.

The residents and businesses of Kamloops–North Thompson are not used to standing still. They look forward for opportunities, ways to achieve success. We have the largest heli-skiing operation in the world, Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing in Blue River. They're teaming up with the community of Blue River to develop trails, under federal and provincial programs, that will allow those affected by the decline in the forestry sector, particularly…. Those displaced workers can continue working as they build tourism opportunities in the North Thompson.

Similar programs are under way in Clearwater, and I want to note mayor John Harwood and his efforts — or his council's — and all of the community leaders in Clearwater that have come together to look at ways of moving forward as they face tough economic times due to a downturn in the U.S. housing market.

The North Thompson Valley has a very rich tradition of forestry and ranching, and they've gone through very difficult times in this global slump, but I know that they'll come out of it stronger than ever, as they always do. I'm glad I'm part of a government that has committed to policies that will strengthen the forest industry, such as $140 million a year in benefits that will come through the HST implementation; the wood-first policy; and also the promotion of wood products in Asia, where China recently surpassed Japan as the second-largest importer of B.C. wood.

As parliamentary secretary for the ranching task force, we are looking at ways to help create a sustainable cattle industry that has suffered from tremendous challenges — challenges such as BSE, drought caused by climate change and the rising value of the Canadian dollar. But we know that ranchers are also tough, and they are working with us to see what regulations, policies and programs can be addressed so that ranching will not only survive but thrive in the province of British Columbia.

By the way, I can tell you that B.C. beef is unsurpassed in its quality and taste. At Ian Mitchell's Barriere ranch I was fortunate to be served the best steak that I've ever tasted in my life, and anyone visiting the Delta hotel at Sun Peaks can order that steak right off the menu, thanks to innovative farm-gate marketing by the Mitchell family.

The North Thompson is also home to ranchers like Ed Salle, who is the former president of the B.C. Cattlemen's Association. Ed has worked tirelessly on behalf of the beef industry, and I thank him for his counsel in advising us as part of the ranching task force.

Ian Moilliet and his family have a ranch with over 800 sheep. The sheep ranching industry was caught up in BSE, which seems ridiculous. Thanks to the protectionism that we see sometimes in the world today, sheep were considered alongside cattle, even though BSE obviously did not affect sheep.

But Ian didn't give up. He and his family, who have been there for over 100 years in the North Thompson Valley, have diversified their operation through agritourism. I invite everyone to go out there in the spring and watch over 800 to 1,000 lambs being born. I was honoured to deliver a plaque to the Moilliet family on behalf of the province of British Columbia, honouring their 100 years as an active ranch here in B.C.

[1705]

While ranching and forestry have rich traditions in the North Thompson, this valley is also the site of new economic opportunities such as a run-of-river project by Canadian Hydro and several large mining operations that are now in the environmental assessment process. These huge investments would not have a chance without policies that encourage companies to look to British Columbia as a safe and smart harbour in a very competitive global economy.

Further south in the valley the Simpcw First Nation, led by Chief Keith Matthew, is one of many that are taking advantage of opportunities created by the devastation wreaked on the valley by the mountain pine beetle. They are developing bioenergy plans that would not take place if the NDP's moratorium on independent power projects was to become a reality.

That opportunity for first nations also has been developed through a positive climate developed through the Premier's vision of a new relationship, and I am heartened that the Speech from the Throne noted that this government's commitment to first nations and to
[ Page 96 ]
the environment is unflagging. This government believes in clean, green energy for all the environmental and economic benefits that it brings, but primarily because, as we all know, it's the right thing to do.

Also situated in the riding of Kamloops–North Thompson is the fastest-growing year-round skiing and mountain bike resort in North America, Sun Peaks, which will soon be incorporated as the newest resort municipality in B.C. This government's vision has supported the success of Sun Peaks, which of course is a huge economic driver for the entire region around Kamloops.

The world truly is coming to British Columbia for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. For the past four years the Austrian men's downhill ski team, comprising some of the very best athletes in the world, have called Sun Peaks home as they train for the 2010 games in Whistler.

Not only has this allowed further infrastructure development at Sun Peaks, but it has greatly increased the stature of this world-class facility. And you can bet that this exposure will reach dizzying heights during coverage of the games in February, when the whole world will know about Sun Peaks, home not only to the Austrian men's downhill ski team but to Canada's female athlete of the century, our own Sen. Nancy Greene.

The North Thompson Valley is truly one of the most beautiful areas of the province. Where the North Thompson meets the South Thompson is the great city of Kamloops, or Tk'emlúps in Secwepemc, which of course means "the meeting of the waters." Canada's tournament capital, which we also call "our place in the sun," is a two-time winner of the Communities in Bloom championship and home of the three-time Memorial Cup champions Kamloops Blazers — soon to be winners of GamesTown 2010, I'm sure.

It's a city where healthy living is epitomized by people like Joe and Adrian Berry, who have rejuvenated people's lives, made huge changes in their lives by encouraging people to move, to get out and exercise through their Runclub program and their Boogie the Bridge event, which raises thousands and thousands of dollars for charities every year.

Kamloops is a city that has seen economic ups and downs in the past but now is stronger than ever thanks to a community that works together and seizes opportunities in every form.

I'm extremely proud to have served as both a councillor and mayor of Kamloops, along with esteemed colleagues like John O'Fee and, of course, former UBCM president Coun. Pat Wallace, who has served for over 20 years on that council. I can tell this House that this city's success is the result of a team approach — a team comprising local, regional, first nations, provincial and federal governments but also a business community and citizens that understand what it means to give back and remain positive about the future.

[1710]

Instead of worrying about the past, Kamloopsians look to tomorrow. I recently had the opportunity to introduce the Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Development to TRU president Kathleen Scherf and the board of Thompson Rivers University on their beautiful campus overlooking the Thompson valleys. The minister told me afterward that the connection between the community and the university was palpable. I think that's a very good description of an institution that in many ways has become the heart of Kamloops, a university that is home to over 1,200 international students from over 60 countries around the world.

I tell you, Mr. Speaker, that I've travelled to China three times on behalf of the city of Kamloops and Thompson Rivers University, and when you talk to people in Beijing, when you talk to people in Tianjin and when you talk about universities in Canada, the name they know is Thompson Rivers University.

This is a university with not only 1,200 international students but also 9,000 domestic students and tens of thousands of distance education students through the open learning division, a university that contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to the regional economy, a university the people of Kamloops knew would be an overwhelming success, a university created by the Premier and the forward-looking government of British Columbia.

By looking forward, this government has paved the way for unprecedented investments in this institution, investments like the B.C. Centre for Open Learning, which opens access to higher education for British Columbians across the province and in fact around the world; investments like the new library commons and the First Nations House of Learning, a truly state-of-the-art facility including a general library, information and learning commons; and a first nations business, technology and leadership space. And in 2011 Thompson Rivers University will be home to the first new law school in Canada in 35 years.

These investments in higher learning are really investments in the people of British Columbia. We must prepare for the jobs of today and also be able to take advantage of tomorrow's opportunities. That is why this government has created more than 36,700 new full-time post-secondary student spaces in B.C.'s 11 universities, 11 colleges, three provincial institutes and the Industry Training Authority since 2001.

As outlined in the Speech from the Throne, British Columbia faces economic challenges thrown at us from all corners of the world. But the people and the communities in Kamloops–North Thompson are poised to weather this storm and, in fact, become stronger than ever. The steps that the government takes now in this time of global economic turmoil will position our entire province to become stronger than ever.
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This summer provincial revenues have vanished faster than anyone could have possibly foreseen. Our declining corporate tax revenues, compounded with over $400 million in forest fire fighting costs and an additional $200 million in preparation for H1N1, have led to some difficult decisions for government — difficult decisions. But we must do what is right for our children and our grandchildren, and we must work to make B.C. more competitive, to reduce barriers to our economy and to protect core public services.

It became clear that the government had to look for new measures to stimulate growth. The decision to harmonize the PST with the federal GST is the single most important thing we can do for our economy. The fact that it will lower business costs on productivity by almost $2 billion will allow businesses to not only weather the economic storm but to reinvest in British Columbia, leading to higher wages, new jobs and more competitive businesses in the globalized market.

I'm interested to note an article in the publication known as The Tyee, hardly a bastion of the policies, perhaps, of the B.C. Liberal government. But in this article, written by Calyn Shaw, it says: "HST was a good policy move by the B.C. government." It quotes Prof. Kevin Milligan from the department of economics at the University of British Columbia, who says: "HST is not a left or right issue, and it isn't ideological as far as economists are concerned. It is just good policy."

[1715]

Professor Milligan went further. He said: "It isn't pro-business and anti-consumer, as the members of the opposition would say. It is the necessary modernization of tax policy." Times change. We must be willing to change as well.

The official opposition says: "Do something for the forest industry." Well, for the 200 workers at Canfor sawmill in Vavenby and Clearwater, this improved investment climate created by the HST policy could make the difference and spur that company to invest in their B.C. operations, ensuring long-term sustainability for those valued 200 jobs in Clearwater.

This government has a vision to keep British Columbia moving forward by creating an economic climate for success and the necessary partnerships. That is how opportunities are created.

Speaking of opportunities, the crisis of climate change is a formidable one but one that also unleashes creativity. In the words of John Gardner, founder of the Common Cause: "Climate change is a series of opportunities disguised as insoluble problems." Nowhere are those opportunities more apparent than in and around the city of Kamloops.

The Tk'mlúps Indian Band, led by Chief Shane Gottfriedson and his very progressive band council, is a leader in development that makes not only economic sense but environmental sense as well. The unique Sun Rivers development — over ten years and still growing — relies on geothermal energy for heating and cooling and is a model for sustainable living. It also has, for those visiting Kamloops, a great golf course which features wandering California bighorn sheep that are protected from the traffic on the Yellowhead Highway by a fencing program initiated by this government.

As the current mayor of the city of Kamloops, my colleague Peter Milobar can be very proud of the fact that his city has more LEED-certified buildings per capita than any other city in Canada. Those buildings include the remarkable Tournament Capital Centre, which has just been named a national centre of excellence for shot put, hammer and discus, where competitors recently featured at the world track and field championships in Berlin train every single month of the year.

It's a building that features geothermal heating and other features that decrease the energy needs of this building, that was supported by this government and that was proudly opened by the Premier and me in 2007, a building that will host the 2010 World Indoor Masters Athletics games, the 2010 Canadian national gymnastic championships, the 2010 Canadian interuniversity athletic volleyball championships and the 2011 Western Canada games.

It's a facility that the citizens of Kamloops voted for in a 2003 referendum and further supported by the vision of this government, which knows that Kamloops, as noted in a recent article by The Vancouver Sun, is a natural fit for benefiting from the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Another building that the people of Kamloops are particularly proud of is the new Vancouver Convention Centre, a building that features glass walls that were built at Inland Glass in Kamloops, British Columbia; a building — the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre — that will bring hundreds of thousands of convention visitors to British Columbia. Many, many of those visitors will hop on the Rocky Mountaineer, the world's best train excursion, to visit Kamloops on the way to Banff and to Jasper.

In just a few short months — I think we noted earlier today that it's 169 days — along with over three billion people around the globe, the citizens of Kamloops will gather together to watch the remarkable 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games on a big screen at the recently opened Spirit Square in my riding, a Spirit Square made possible by a partnership between the city and this government.

British Columbians expect a government that will foster these partnerships. They expect a government that will build a climate for economic opportunities. We all know that without a strong economy, we can't afford the core services that British Columbians expect.

[1720]
[ Page 98 ]

This government is targeting its spending on critical services that are needed for patients, students, children and families. The $1.6 billion from the federal government in transitional funds for moving toward the HST will help deliver on our promise to protect health care and education. Fully 90 percent of all new spending in B.C.'s three-year fiscal plan is devoted to health care. That's over $4.8 billion, and overall, despite what the opposition members say, health care spending has gone up nearly 70 percent since 2001 under this government.

Those dollars are being spent all over the province, but we see those dollars being spent in Kamloops. The emergency ward expansion and the new MRI equipment at Royal Inland Hospital are a testament to this government's commitment to make that hospital a truly tertiary regional centre serving all the people of Thompson-Cariboo-Shuswap.

Another vision. Along with the Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, we will support that vision for our region.

We know that children are our future. This government has committed to investing in that future. For the eighth straight year per-pupil funding increased in 2008 and 2009, and it will continue to increase for a ninth year in 2009-2010.

The focus on early learning and early childhood development as outlined in the throne speech this week will pay dividends for this province. We know that children's early years are critical to their cognitive development. That's why full-time five-year-old kindergarten will be delivered to schools in British Columbia in September of 2010.

Every indicator of economic success is related to education, and I am proud to say that education is celebrated in communities throughout Kamloops–North Thompson. I was honoured earlier this year to attend graduation ceremonies for members of the Simpcw First Nation in Chu Chua. I was truly humbled in the way that every community member enrolled in programs from kindergarten to university were honoured and celebrated for investing in themselves and their community. I want to take the opportunity to congratulate Chief Keith Matthew and his council for their leadership on the education and the importance of education to everyone in this province.

While children represent the future, we must remember what our seniors have contributed so that we can live in such a wonderful province. In Clearwater we've seen the construction of a new seniors residence that allows families to stay together in that community. In Kamloops over 500 new beds have been built, including those at the Hamlets at Westsyde, Bedford Manor, Kamloops Seniors Village….

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.

T. Lake: Thank you for the attention of everyone in the House.

J. Brar: I seek leave to make an introduction.

Deputy Speaker: Proceed.

Interjections.

J. Brar: I thought you were supporting me.

Deputy Speaker: Member, please direct your comments through the Chair.

Introductions by Members

J. Brar: Visiting us today we have very special guests who have come from India, Calgary and the beautiful city of Surrey. With us today we have a friend of mine, Hurmeet Kudiyan, who is visiting us from Calgary. He's a very good friend. With him is his brother, who is visiting from India. His name is Gurmeet Kudiyan. He also ran for political office in India as a Member of Parliament. Their father was a Member of Parliament, a very well known, very well respected Member of Parliament in India. His name was Sidhardu Dave Singh Kudiyan.

With them we also have Gurjeet Dhaliwal, Mandeep Dhaliwal, Sukdeep Dhaliwal and Sumeet Kudiyan. I would ask the House to please make them feel welcome.

[1725]

Debate Continued

S. Fraser: I rise today to speak in response to the throne speech. I'd like to begin by welcoming all the new members here from both sides of the House. This is somewhat of a daunting place to start in. I remember it well, my first term, last term around, and it's scary to stand up here. There's a history of great oration in this place. It's hard to live up to that, but you get over that. I'm impressed by the calibre of the speeches that we're hearing here today, from the new people especially.

I'd also like to acknowledge Delores, my wife, and Emma, my daughter, for putting up with the trials of an election and the challenges of the job. They are significant, as all members know. There's a lot of separation with the family. Again, I'd like to acknowledge my family, and the families of everyone else here too.

With that, I'd also like to thank all the people that helped me during the election. I found it gratifying, to say the least, to see so many people coming into my office to help with the election. Everyone in this House knows how important that is. It's not us that win an election; it's the people that surround us and all the hard work they do. Again, I'd like to acknowledge them for that.
[ Page 99 ]

I am now the MLA for a different constituency. It's called Alberni–Pacific Rim.

[L. Reid in the chair.]

Madam Speaker, welcome.

It was Alberni-Qualicum. With the boundary changes, that has changed. So I acknowledge Qualicum Beach, a wonderful community. I was honoured to represent them in my first term and hope and wish all the best in this term for them.

I have a very interesting riding. Everyone brags about their own, and I appreciate that, but central Vancouver Island, from Long Beach to the beaches on the east side of the Island — magnificent. The Alberni Valley in between — a fantastic place for people to live, raise families, and to recreate too. I am honoured to be here on their behalf, and I will try to live up to their expectations.

I'm going to move on to the substance of my speech now regarding the throne speech — my response, that is. I question the substance of the throne speech. Probably, at this point I will cease to get any applause from the government side, so I acknowledge that also. [Applause.]

Thank you, Minister.

The throne speech is lacking in substance. Substance abuse comes to mind in this case. The throne speech illustrates and confirms the complete lack of integrity of this Liberal government. It's like the Liberals do a poll before every election and try to find out what the public wants to hear, what they expect. Then they promise away, even though they're in the process of doing the exact opposite.

Of course, this is nothing new. This is nothing new for the B.C. Liberal Party. Remember statements like: "We will honour contracts from HEU workers, CUPE workers." Remember promises like that made prior to an election and then broken.

Or remember: "We will build 5,000 new long-term care beds for our seniors." Remember that fairy tale, or remember one of my favourites: "We will not sell B.C. Rail." They were probably warming up the shredders when they made that promise.

In fact, the public has learned the hard way — the very hard way — that no statements, no promises, no assurances made by this government can be taken at face value when it comes to this government.

[1730]

Throne speech. Throne should be spelled t-h-r-o-w-n. This government has thrown another curve ball at the people of B.C., and the people of B.C. have noticed.

You can yell into the abyss of Liberal duplicity as loud as you want and never hear an echo. It is bottomless.

Let's look at what is not in the throne speech. Actually, first, just a couple of things that came to note when the throne speech was delivered. There was a statement made. The economic downturn was "unpredictable and brutally deceiving" was the quote.

Unpredictable? Unpredictable to this government, to the Premier, to the minister. Unpredictable, despite the experts, the economists warning us, the dire warnings coming from around the world. Unpredictable? Unbelievable.

"Brutally deceiving" was the other statement made. That was referring to the economy. Well, it doesn't refer to the economy, and if I finish this thought out loud, I would dare say that the Speaker would sanction me, so I will leave that up to the imagination of the audience here.

The B.C. Liberals said they will protect critical health and education services. That's not true. That's not what they're doing. That was a Liberal election promise. We all know what that means.

We're seeing cuts to surgeries, MRIs. In the Alberni Valley there was a unilateral cut for addiction services, for residential treatment — all of it shut down, all the money shut down to help people that need that help. Even when the people that work for VIHA want to send people to services to get cleaned up, to get out of their addiction problems, that vicious cycle…. They've taken that away.

These critical cuts do not jibe with the promise: "We will protect critical health and education services."

Education services. There are 11,000 overcrowded classrooms, against this government's own legislation in this province. Protect education? This is the government that gutted key scholarship programs as soon as it got in. They didn't replace them. The few that were left, or the ones that were left for PR value, have been gutted now.

This is a time to invest in education, in training. It is what all progressive jurisdictions do to prepare for the hopefully inevitable upturn in the economy and to be leaders once again.

This government doesn't know the meaning of a true investment. Investing in education — in our children, in our youth — is the only real investment in our future. They are our future. This government doesn't get it. It's a bean-counter mentality.

No, we already knew that. However, the statement made in this throne speech finds itself on the wrong side of the facts. "We will protect critical health and education services." It is the polar opposite.

Let's look at what the throne speech doesn't say. It doesn't mention that this government steered us to the worst child poverty rate in the country for five years in a row. Now, this occurred when there were record surpluses. This government took credit for those massive surpluses because of world commodity prices.

They don't take credit, I noticed, for the downturn in the economy, but they quote the same issue: plummeting commodity prices. Whoa, you can't have it both ways. They think they do on that side of the House.

What else wasn't in the throne speech? The worst rate of full-time job losses in Canada last year — no mention
[ Page 100 ]
of that. There was no mention that this was the second-worst economy in Canada last year. These economic business wizards have steered us wrong.

[1735]

We're looking at the largest deficit in B.C. history. Actually, that was alluded to in the throne speech, but then again, the Liberals are getting used to that. They've done that one before. They've already given us the largest deficit in B.C. history. They're getting good at it.

They didn't mention that the forest industry was in crisis for years before the economic meltdown. I'll cite the previous Finance Minister, Carole Taylor. She said that while the crisis was occurring, this government sat as spectators, somewhere in the bleachers. They've never got out of the bleachers.

What it doesn't say in the throne speech is that ongoing environmental degradation, destruction of rivers and streams and the demise of the salmon stocks, is occurring right now. It's occurring because of this Liberal government. They're giving away our rivers. They've given away 500 square miles of public control of trees and forests just on Vancouver Island, and gotten nothing in return, all at the expense of taxpayers, residents and the environment. Now, that's not in the throne speech.

They didn't mention that they've refused to raise the minimum wage for the lowest-paid workers in B.C. in eight years. No problem giving senior bureaucrats a $100,000 raise. No mention of skyrocketing tuition — more than doubled, the tuition costs in this province.

I read in the paper last week that students in B.C. are facing the worst job problems this summer that they ever have. Now the scholarships have been taken away.

See, the minister is laughing.

Scholarships have been taken away. Students can't find work. Tuition fees have doubled. These guys have gutted the apprenticeship programs in this province, and they're talking about a bright future. Not from the students that I talk to, riddled with debt. These guys charge usury rates of interest on student loans.

This is not a good government. This is not a government that cares about the people of British Columbia. That's not in the throne speech either.

Overcrowded classrooms — that's not in the throne speech.

Cuts to libraries. I guess that literacy thing is out the window, another forgotten promise.

Cancelled surgeries. Well, that breaks a promise about protecting critical health care.

Shutting down programs like LiveSmart. We'll that's brilliant. It was a success. I give it to you; it was a success. The Liberal government gave us that, and they cancelled it in the middle of it. The minister claimed it was because it was a success. Well, so much for protecting the environment, I guess.

How about downgrading the Scrap-It program to get polluting cars off the road? That was a success too. Well, I guess the environment will be fine while we do this — right? These were relatively good programs, progressive programs, and in some cases, ones that worked well. Those are what are being cut.

They didn't mention that they're scrapping the PST exemptions on environmentally friendly products. No.

They didn't mention abandoning Vancouver Island marmots. No. I guess that was just omitted from the throne speech.

I heard last week…. I haven't confirmed it. To be fair, I could be wrong. But I'm a big fan of animals, and I'm a big supporter of the BCSPCA. I saw that the minister had a big press conference last year regarding doing some stuff for the BCSPCA. I heard that the only core funding that comes from the province to support the anti-cruelty campaigns that we all, I hope, support has been cancelled. It was only $75,000. I forget how many millions the provincial government in Ontario gives to their SPCA, because the public doesn't put up with cruelty to animals. It's not an issue here.

[1740]

These are the real legacies of the B.C. Liberals, all of them conveniently omitted in this throne speech. I note that at least the first part of the throne speech, instead of being devoted to the usual platitudes or promises or statements that were already being broken, a large chunk of it at the beginning dealt specifically with defending a broken election promise. I have never seen that in throne speeches before. I did not believe that was the reason for a throne speech, to try to prop up a bad policy decision that misled the public to win an election.

So we have an HST, harmonized sales tax, that…. I'm not an economist, so I don't get the logic, but here's what the government is trying to tell us here. They're saying it will stimulate the economy and create jobs. [Applause.]

Yeah, yeah, give me applause, sure.

How is that going to work? Here's how it's kind of explained, I think. Well, it's simple, according to the Liberals — the Finance Minister, the Premier. If we drive up the price of things like new homes, hydro bills, haircuts, movie tickets, restaurant meals, vitamins, Energy Star appliances, residential phone lines, newspapers…. If we drive up the price of cable TV, the price of safety equipment — I like that one — school supplies…. If we drive up the price of accounting services, non-prescription medication and drugs….

If we drive up condo fees…. Oh, and that's a tough one to take for the leaky-condo owners. Not only are they being abandoned by this government, but they're getting the announcement that with the broken promise about the HST, they're going to pay $200 more a year because this government broke an election campaign. That's a bit of salt in the wound there.

So raising the prices on these things — smoke detectors, life jackets, funerals…. Raising the price on…. The list is too long. Yeah, I can't run it out here; the list is
[ Page 101 ]
so long. Raising the price on those things and having families, seniors on fixed incomes, students pay thousands of dollars more in taxes is going to create jobs and stimulate the economy.

Now, I don't know how much bathwater the Liberal members drank and the ministers drank, but no one else in B.C. is buying it. Nobody else is buying it. The people of British Columbia know this is the largest regressive tax grab in the history of the province. This is a tax shift of $2 billion. It's quasi Reaganomics.

These guys, the Liberals, are still…. They're running with an outmoded, diabolical form of economics. They're suggesting that if our corporate friends, our donors, can benefit more, that if we can shift $2 billion worth of tax burden onto the public and they get some cuts, we're all going to benefit. That was the trickle-down kind of thing — right? That was Reaganomics.

Well, I'm sorry. This government's done this already in the forest industry. This is why the CEOs in the forest industry supposedly support this. Well, they already did this in 2003. They called it — oh, I hate the term — forest revitalization.

Remember the three amigos tour? They had the big czars for the forest industry. They travelled the province, and they wanted a whole bunch of things. The province, this Liberal government, gave them everything.

They deregulated. It led to more deaths and injuries in the industry. We're still facing that legacy. They got cuts on costs. They got public forest control. They got monopolies. Whole things that are against the Forest Act were given to them by this government — huge amounts of forest land, as I said before.

[1745]

They were given all that and unfettered raw log export. They changed the legislation to allow that and self-policing. And those corporate CEOs that said they would invest billions, would create a whole bunch of jobs — none of that happened. So they're telling us that again.

See, the people in Port Alberni and forest communities all over British Columbia that were around in 2003, which is all of them — they know this for what it is, and I almost said the word that can get me kicked out of here. You gotta be kidding. You must be kidding. Before the election, the B.C. Liberals strategically omitted telling people, the public, their true intentions.

Besides misleading the public regarding the HST, the public never heard that direct-access grants were at risk. That's the gaming funds that sponsor all the non-profits. Those people have been on pins and needles, losing sleep with the freezing of those. Now, I see they've been unfrozen. Does that mean they're going to get them? No, of course not.

What about palliative care, hospices? What about food banks? What about food banks? What about the few women's centres and resource centres that are still around that rely on those grants? They've never had more of a need. Those services have never been more necessary because these guys have abandoned so many British Columbians.

Oh, we have a fight ahead of us. They can't get away with this. We never heard about cuts to libraries, arts, culture, sports, cuts to health care, tourism. Tourism B.C. The minister won't talk about it except when he's off the record. Pretty good heckler, he is. We never heard about the Liberal plan to prey on those with gambling addictions and the huge increase being promoted for internet gambling. We never heard about that.

Indeed, it is ironic that while the Liberals are exploiting tens of thousands of British Columbians who have severe gambling problems, they are also threatening the very non-profits that are there to help them because the government abandoned them, and that's criminal. Hey…. If the Liberal government was a crack dealer, I guess they wouldn't want to protect those people and promote healing those addictions. I guess not. Another piece of doublespeak and hypocrisy from this government that used to claim and acknowledge that this was a scourge — on-line gambling. Now you're preying on those people.

In closing, it seems to be the only way to get the minister responsible for tourism to comment in this House is to have him heckle.

Interjection.

S. Fraser: You can duck and weave when you're on the record. Big mouth now.

Deputy Speaker: Order, hon. Member.

S. Fraser: I withdraw.

S. Fraser: In closing, the Liberals won the election through duplicity and deceit and are an illegitimate government because of that.

They are wielding their power like drunken sailors, and I mean that with no disrespect to drunken sailors everywhere. They are wielding their power to ensure that their largest support is gained at the expense of all of the rest of us. My constituents in Alberni–Pacific Rim — they're families, students, and seniors on fixed incomes. I will do everything I can to stop them.

R. Howard: It's an honour as the new MLA for Richmond Centre to speak about the throne speech and the vision it outlines for our province. Before I do so, however, I would like to recognize some of the people whose help and support is very important to me.

[1750]

First, of course, is my family. Every decision we make, we make as a family, whether it be our 12-year involvement with the Richmond Minor Hockey Association,
[ Page 102 ]
my seven years as a Richmond city councillor or this commitment as an MLA to the citizens of Richmond Centre and the province. First, my darling wife, Trudy — I draw inspiration from you every day. I think I lucked out in the choosing-a-wife department. To my son, Jay — I take so much pride in calling him my son.

As a family we've been blessed with many positive experiences — not that life hasn't presented some challenges. My wife, Trudy, is a breast cancer survivor. She embodies a positive spirit and is a living example of personal leadership and grace. As we all know, these challenges do make us stronger.

I must also mention my mother, Irene, whose footsteps I'm proud to follow. She was also a councillor. Back in those days it was an alderwoman. She ran her own business and had too many notable achievements to list. But most importantly, she was the best mother my sister and I could have asked for. To my stepfather Mel, who immediately became a strong part of our family; my sister Roxanne and her darling daughter, my niece Audrey, who are always willing to give so much of themselves to others. I am often the beneficiary of that.

Of course, I must also mention members of my campaign team. I cannot mention them all, but I wish I could. Eric Yung and Julie Halfnights chaired my campaign. Eric's father, Bennie Yung, was mentioned in the throne speech as one of the British Columbian community leaders who passed away last year. We miss him. Eric brought some of his father's wisdom and much insight to our campaign, as did Julie Halfnights, who was better known as a Richmond volunteer extraordinaire and a good friend.

Louise Young and Don Grant provided campaign experience to a relatively new team, and the boundless enthusiasm of Julia Krause kept us up and on the move. Thanks to Dana Westermark and Johnny Chung, who kept fundraising and reporting in order. This great group of people gave of their time because they believed in me and because they believed in this government. They worked hard to ensure that this government would return to power, and they were successful.

Richmond Centre is one of the most diverse areas in the entire country. The best restaurant food in the world is in Richmond Centre. So you're all invited to come to Richmond for lunch to experience world-class multicultural cuisine, Asian-themed shopping malls and most of the major hotels. Of course, the award-winning international airport is also located in Richmond Centre. The Canada line, which I spoke of earlier today, runs almost its entire length in Richmond in my riding. The Richmond Olympic Oval, located on the banks of the Fraser River, is located here as well. It is an exciting, dynamic, diverse riding which I am absolutely honoured to represent.

Richmond Centre is home to many small businesses that understand the need for a vital and healthy economy. During the campaign I spoke to hundreds of business owners and constituents whose primary concern was for a strong economy, because they know that means jobs — jobs for them, jobs for their families, jobs for their children.

This, of course, ties into my own beliefs. As a business owner, a city councillor, past president of Tourism Richmond and a past member of the executive of a financial institution, I know that a job is the foundation for success in so many ways. A job provides income, helping keep families together. I know a job pays taxes, which go to fund vital services such as health care and education, which impact heavily on our quality of life.

Madam Speaker, I wanted to speak just for a minute about the Canada line. It embodies partnerships. It does so much for the economy. It does so much for the environment. As we know, it opened on August 17. I would like you to know how it came to be. It's a story that spans decades.

[1755]

At the recent opening a number of us got together reminiscing. Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie had pulled an article out of the archives from the '70s, drafted by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, talking about a rapid transit line connecting Vancouver and Richmond.

We now fast-forward 30 years and at least a dozen major studies later to 2002. I was just elected as a councillor. Mayor Brodie put together a task force in Richmond and sought community leaders to participate, to lobby and to make sure that this very valuable rapid transit line happened, connecting Richmond, Vancouver and the airport. Community leaders stood forward. Bruce Rozenhart, Mel Goodwin, Danny Leung, Gary Cohen and others gave of their time to plan and cajole the decision-makers.

This task force grew into a larger coalition headed by Bruce Rozenhart. Others such as John Winter, Dave Park, Rick Antonson, Stephen Regan and Jerry Lampertjoined forces and helped make the Canada line a reality. Challenged by the old TransLink board that twice turned down the project, this group of leaders rolled up their sleeves and determined that this rapid transit line would have to happen.

I should hasten to add that with the strong leadership of the Premier and this government, happen it did. So I say thank you and congratulations to the Richmond RAV task force and to the rapid transit coalition. But in particular, I want to thank the Premier. This is another example of strong leadership getting results for our province.

This is B.C.'s worst recession in 27 years, and the effects it has had on Richmond Centre and the province are dramatic. Families are worried about their jobs;
[ Page 103 ]
they're worried about their future. This government understands those worries, and we are taking action to address….

We are focused very intently on making sure not only that B.C. weathers this economic storm but that we have come through it stronger than ever. It is the job I was elected to do by the people of Richmond Centre. It is the job that all of my colleagues in government caucus were elected to do. Under the leadership of the Premier, we are going to get that job done. It won't be easy, and we are under no illusions about that. Accomplishing this very large task ahead of us means we are required to make some difficult decisions.

One of the most important decisions that this new government has made, and easily the most challenging, is to move to harmonized sales tax. We live in a small world these days, one that is vastly different from just a few years ago. The pace of change is remarkable. Capital investment has never had so many choices. Investors can choose where they want to go and invest, from all over the globe. It has never been so important that our province's investment climate be competitive with the rest of the country and the rest of the world.

Our old PST system was created in the 1940s. Please just think about that for a minute. The old PST system was created over 60 years ago. The rest of the world has moved to a new system; 29 out of 30 OECD countries have moved to a new system. Now, with Ontario's announcement, the majority of Canadians will live under a new system.

This change to HST is not just necessary; I believe it is mandatory. For us to remain competitive, our tax system must be competitive. The rest of the globe is moving to a value-added tax system. So must we. We must look forward, not backward. We must compete.

We must compete for the jobs in this new millennium, not let an old and archaic tax system lead us down the road to slower growth and fewer jobs. Not changing would be a lot easier, but it would not be right. This move will ensure a sustainable economy which in turn helps fund our essential services such as health care and education. This is why we are elected, and this is what we are doing.

I have discussed how modernizing sales taxes by bringing in the HST will boost investment and productivity in British Columbia. I believe very strongly that not only will this propel our province out of this recession, but it will also provide the economic strength we need to survive future economic downturns better than most other jurisdictions.

[1800]

Another great boost to the future strength and resilience of our economy is our emerging leadership role in the green economy, which the throne speech discussed. We have heard that this government will aggressively pursue a strategy to turn the challenge of climate change to our province's economic advantage. We heard, and we all know very well, that the world has a great desire and a tremendous need for clean energy. We have the world-class mines and the entrepreneurial genius to meet this need.

As we heard yesterday, developing new, clean, renewable power will provide a competitive advantage. It is an advantage which will stimulate new investment, industry and employment as knowledge industries begin to search out places like B.C. that have clean, reliable, low-carbon and low-cost power.

Just yesterday we met with CanWEA, the Canadian Wind Energy Association. They spoke about how excited they are to be part of B.C.'s future. They spoke of billions of dollars in investments and thousands of jobs in this province.

Not only is our growing green energy sector going to help to make our economy stronger and more resilient, it will help us to reach our goal of environmental sustainability. As we continue to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels and move to green energy sources such as wind, tidal, solar and geothermal, we will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions tremendously. Richmond looks to lead the way, especially in geothermal exchange, as the city is researching a geothermal utility in its emerging downtown, Richmond centre.

Another way we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions is through our continued construction of transit options to make it easier for people to leave their cars at home. I've spoken at some length today about the Canada line, of which I'm so proud for so many different reasons. The positive environmental benefits that Canada line will bring are immense, including a reduction of greenhouse gases by some 14,000 tonnes per year.

I guess you could argue that the theme of this throne speech is sustainability. The throne speech outlined critical measures being taken to make our economy stronger and more resilient, more sustainable. It also laid out important measures that this government will take as we move forward towards environmental sustainability.

The throne speech also looks at increased sustainability of our services. In May, British Columbians spoke clearly, and what they said is that they wanted a stable government that would return and get our province through these difficult economic times and protect vital services in the process. This is exactly what we are doing.

As we have heard, the $1.6 billion in transition funding for HST will be used to protect vital health and education services. However, we cannot escape the fact that this extreme recession is having a dramatic effect on government revenues — much more so than was ever anticipated. That is why we are looking at ways to reduce discretionary spending and increase efficiencies.
[ Page 104 ]
Unfortunately, this alone will not be enough to ensure that health and education have the money they need, so we will have deficits.

Richmond General Hospital is located in Richmond Centre. It serves as a focal and primary health services provider in our city. Sustainable funding and continued investment are required to ensure its continued services. Kwantlen Polytechnic University and BCIT also have campuses in Richmond Centre. We are proud to be home to these institutions. We know well that they also deserve sustainable funding to be fully successful. Sustainable funding requires a strong economy.

Madam Speaker, I'm mindful of the time. I understand that various members may have ferries to catch.

Deputy Speaker: Please continue.

[1805]

R. Howard: I represent a riding of tremendous ethnic diversity. The large Asian-Canadian communities in my riding and Richmond as a whole represent one of our greatest strengths. In this increasingly interdependent world in which we see the breathtaking rise of countries such as India and China, Richmond has an exciting role to play. That is why I am so proud of the progress this government has made in diversifying our markets in Asia and why I am so excited about the new Asia-Pacific gateway authority we are going to pursue with the federal government.

I'd like to talk about the Asia-Pacific gateway. As a Richmond city councillor, I had the privilege to serve as the liaison to our sister city, and we engaged in selecting friendship cities in China to add to the relationships we had in Quebec and Japan. We selected cities in China, Xiamen and Qingdao. Our 33-year relationship with Wakayama, Japan, which was recognized as one of the most successful sister city relationships in the entire country, had taught us some lessons.

One of the principal reasons for its success was having frequent travel and communication between communities. Well, the Asia-Pacific gateway runs through Richmond. We have the population base that does travel and communicate on a regular basis with Asia and beyond. We will play a significant role in the success of the Asia-Pacific gateway strategy. This is a very important initiative that accounts for approximately 80,000 jobs in the province today, thousands in Richmond, and we expect it to account for over 200,000 jobs by 2020.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Of course, Richmond is a venue city for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. At just the right time, our province will enjoy an influx of hundreds of thousands of people providing a needed lift to our economy, but even more than that, hundreds of millions of people will watch as our province showcases itself in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We will make sure that we invite the world to come and see in person the unbridled beauty that this province has to offer.

As a councillor in Richmond, I had the pleasure to be involved with the Richmond Olympic Oval from start to finish, and I can tell you that it's a sight to behold. The world has not seen a building like this — over six acres under one roof, showcasing a pine beetle roof, the first of its kind in the world, built in a strong partnership with this government. This iconic building sits on the banks of the Fraser River, separated from the river by only a Spirit Square built in yet another strong partnership with this provincial government — a place for the community to meet and be inspired to a healthier lifestyle or maybe even be inspired to be an Olympic athlete.

Just imagine the pride we will feel when Canadian athletes are awarded gold medals standing in the oval on Richmond soil, on B.C. soil. The excitement is building. The Richmond community is coming alive with anticipation, and they are indeed ready to host the world in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I know that once they see what Richmond has to offer, they will come. Our island city abounds in nature, waterfront dikes and trails, green and park space, farming markets, fresh fish markets, world-class cuisine and shopping opportunities, but most of all, the friendliest, most energetic and entrepreneurial people on the planet. They will come, they will see, and they will come back.

I would like to end on a personal note because this throne speech in significant ways embodies why I ran for election this last May and, in fact, is a continuation of what I see as solid government policy, which is what brought me into politics in 2001 as a city councillor at the time.

[1810]

Aligning our tax structure from PST to GST with the rest of the country and the rest of the world makes our economy more sustainable. This is important to me. It means a more secure future for my son. It means a more secure future for his family.

A sustainable economy means we are better able to fund and protect health care, education and other social services, and capital programs that are so very important to our quality of life.

This throne speech places an undeniable emphasis on the environment. These are the three legs of true sustainability: financial, social, environmental. We must keep these three legs in balance.

I'm proud to be part of a government that recognizes this and moves to back up its words with decisive action. This government has a solid history of recognizing the
[ Page 105 ]
right thing to do and having the fortitude to stay with it. That's what strong leadership is, and with all this province has to offer, combined with this kind of strong and experienced leadership, we can only be excited about our future.

Mr. Speaker: Member for Powell River–Sunshine Coast, and noting the hour.

N. Simons: Noting the hour, Mr. Speaker. I was getting to the main point I wanted to make, but noting the hour, I move adjournment of debate.

N. Simons moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. B. Penner moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 10 a.m. Monday morning.

The House adjourned at 6:12 p.m.

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