2011 Legislative Session: Fourth 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)

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Morning Sitting

Volume 25, Number 2

[ Page 7911 ]

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2011

The House met at 10:02 a.m.

Clerk of the House: I wish to advise the House of the unavoidable absence of Mr. Speaker. Pursuant to standing orders, the Deputy Speaker will be taking the chair this morning.

[L. Reid in the chair.]

Prayers.

Point of Privilege
(Reservation of Right)

N. Simons: This is my first opportunity to stand and ask that I reserve my right to raise a matter of privilege with respect to comments made by the Minister of Health.

Tributes

robert vaive

Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, Robert Vaive, our Clerk Assistant, is not with us this session. He's undergoing treatment, and we wish him and his wife, Diane, the very best.

He provided fine assistance to me in my role as Deputy Speaker, and I will be forever grateful. Please join me in wishing him well. He's watching, so let's give him a round of applause. [Applause.]

Introductions by Members

Deputy Speaker: Assisting the House as guest Clerk in Robert's absence is Rod MacArthur, QC. Rod is the retired Chief Clerk of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia. He served the Nova Scotia House from 1975 to 2010, the last 24 years as Chief Clerk. He also practised law in the province for 30 years.

Rod has a special affection for British Columbia, having worked in Port Alberni in his youth. Please join me in making him welcome.

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. Polak: I call debate on the throne speech.

Throne Speech Debate

N. Letnick: I move, seconded by the member for Maple Ridge–Mission, that:

[We, Her Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in session assembled, beg leave to thank Your Honour for the gracious speech which Your Honour has addressed to us at the opening of the present session.]

As I rise in the House today in this year of our province's 153rd anniversary, I would like to thank the Premier for the honour of moving the throne speech. This honour belongs to all the people living in British Columbia, to the people of the Okanagan and, in particular, to the residents of the Kelowna–Lake Country riding.

[1005]

Madam Speaker, this throne speech is more than just an economic plan, more than a plan for families. It is the heralding of a new leader, a new Premier, one with a different vision and a new style of leadership, one that is right for our times of political and economic unrest around the world, one that empowers all British Columbians to dream dreams and engage in the future of their province like never before.

Through this throne speech, our Premier demonstrates she understands that during these unprecedented times around the world, people need hope. They need a government with courage, and they especially need to be engaged. They need to be consulted first and then get along with a hard-nosed commitment to get on with the job at hand. Only once people see the system functioning to meet their needs will citizens fully buy in.

And buy-in is exactly what we will need if we are to really tackle one of the largest challenges facing all democratic governments: how do we achieve both minimal drag in our economies by maintaining competitive tax levels and also provide the best in government services that are supported throughout generations?

[D. Black in the chair.]

Already there are critics tugging from both sides, but this throne speech has found the mark, the right balance, the sweet spot.

The throne speech heralds in a time of caring and a time of change. Caring for everyday British Columbians, especially seniors, who are worried about their health care system being there when they need it most; business owners who are trying to grow their enterprises and create jobs; parents who want a better life for their children; and young people who are concerned about achieving a triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental sustainability.

This throne speech signifies a new beginning, a new battle cry, a renewed commitment that we have a government focused on the needs of every citizen during both good times and challenging times, a government that knows it cannot make all people happy all the time but is committed to inclusiveness, transparency and fairness.

Through her first throne speech, our Premier has shown the courage to tackle even the most difficult issues facing our province, like education reform. Since assuming the leadership of our province, she has also
[ Page 7912 ]
demonstrated that inclusiveness is an important tenet of her leadership style by asking private members such as myself to more actively represent their constituents through the introduction of private members' bills and participation on committees.

This was how the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act, a bill to help emergency responders, was initiated. This is a time of change — change that is opening up government for all British Columbians. With the advancement of technology, there is no longer any excuse for government to move forward with substantive change without first engaging people, except in the case of crisis.

Engaging people pays huge dividends in the long run. It may take a little longer, require a little more effort and a little more skill, but people inherently connect with something they had a hand in building, and that is the philosophy advanced in this throne speech and the pattern we are following with the Select Standing Committee on Health, for one.

The process of change is critical to achieving desired outcomes. People in British Columbia and around the world are mobilizing to be part of positive change. Some are willing to even lay down their lives to achieve and protect that right.

My father and many of his generation fought to protect that right, and today men and women are overseas, risking their lives to extend these fundamental freedoms to people we will never meet. We honour all of them by practising at home the principles they fight and fought for abroad: freedom of speech, equality, transparency and accountability.

The honour of moving a throne speech belongs to British Columbians throughout this magnificent province who make personal sacrifices supporting their families every day. For what higher calling can there be than to move from "me" to "we" and consider the needs of others more important than our own?

As family members put the needs of others first, we must place families first, especially if we want our communities to be healthy, vibrant and sustainable now and into the future. The throne speech places families at the centre of every decision made by government and redefines the overarching vision of government to care for families first and to support families in times of need.

We especially honour those who are placed between aging parents and dependent children. We must continue to work hard to honour the spirit of British Columbia's caregivers. The recent action of this Premier and this government has sent a clear message to families. Their government cares deeply about their well-being.

[1010]

Actions like increasing the minimum wage, eliminating parking fees in all provincial parks so families can enjoy the many beautiful places dotting our British Columbia landscape. Action like the $23 million for healthy start programs, so vulnerable first-time families can get the healthiest start for mom and baby. Actions like $13 million to help families with sick or disabled children who need to travel to B.C. Children's Hospital for treatment and also millions to expand access to Internet service across British Columbia.

The honour also rests with the people of the Okanagan and especially those, if I may, who live in the riding of Kelowna–Lake Country — people like the former MLA of my riding, Al Horning, and his wife, Donna. To my constituency assistants, Katja Maurmann and Monika Jatel. To my legislative assistant, Ryan Pineo, an honorary Okanagan, and to my riding president, Barb Logie, and her team for their assistance and leadership. And if I may, hon. Speaker, the honour belongs to four special Okanagans: my wife, Helene; and our three children, Melanie, J.P. and Naomi.

Like many places throughout British Columbia, the people of the Okanagan enjoy thriving communities, wonderful weather, beautiful scenery, countless recreational opportunities and unsurpassed quality of life. We are open for business, welcome new visitors and residents alike and enjoy one of the best international airports in the country.

Over the years the Okanagan has played a pivotal role in the success of British Columbia. From new parks to new schools, new roads to new pools, a new bridge, new hospital programs to new university degrees, the Okanagan will continue to play a key role in British Columbia's future success. But behind the outward beauty of the valley, the Okanagan shares some challenges with people across British Columbia.

People who work in the tree fruit industry are feeling the pinch and need hope. World competition for tree fruits has helped to depress prices. There are many challenges, but none must deter government from its commitment to working with farmers who find solutions that can help sustain a viable tree fruit industry in British Columbia. There's no silver-bullet fix. We need to move forward together to help sustain an industry that not only produces thousands of direct jobs but also contributes to the well-being of thousands of other jobs in related industries.

Also needing attention are those citizens who fall between the cracks, those who are brain-injured or otherwise mentally challenged, including many who have succumbed to the pressure of substance abuse. Government has made and continues to make great investments to assist those who need a hand up. In Kelowna alone over the past five years government has opened three new facilities, and construction is underway on the fourth building to be operated by the John Howard Society.

This government is making a difference — improving lives, rejoining families and literally building for a brighter tomorrow. As one who for the ten years preceding being
[ Page 7913 ]
elected had the privilege of teaching post-secondary students, I can tell you our future is in good hands.

With inquisitive minds, a world of knowledge and communication at their fingertips, today's young adults are poised to take their rightful place as the leaders of tomorrow. Our government is keen to help them succeed. This throne speech lays down a foundation upon which today's youth can continue building a superstructure of confidence about themselves and their place in British Columbia's bright future.

British Columbia's post-secondary education system is preparing students to take their places in the knowledge economy. In the past ten years British Columbia has undergone the largest expansion of post-secondary seats in our history. Over $20 billion has been invested in post-secondary education with over a 50 percent increase, far outpacing population growth.

With a continued commitment to limit tuition increases, British Columbia continues to enjoy tuition fees ranging around the middle of all provinces. In addition, we have new degree programs, new spaces, new facilities and new students, including over 23,000 international students, with more to come.

We also have a renewed commitment to assist students by making B.C.'s post-secondary system align not only with our K-to-12 system but maximizing their opportunities to succeed by matching students with the right programs and the right jobs. In order to address B.C.'s current and future skills shortage, we need to offer them job opportunities and training and maximize their skills.

[1015]

One of the new, exciting programs to help them is Youth Skills B.C. workplace pilot program. It's designed to help unemployed youth to enhance their skills and employability through work experience with employers. Participating companies receive an incentive to hire and find training for them. The program is designed to provide participants with the necessary skills to be successful through a combination of on-the-job training, work experience and formal skills development training.

The throne speech also signals our government's intent to continue supporting students and others through expansion of public transit in many areas of our province. In particular, government is committing $583 million to the funding of the Evergreen line, which will relieve congestion, improve air quality and link Port Moody and Coquitlam to the SkyTrain system. Over 8,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created during construction.

Hon. Speaker, while uplifting and full of hope for the future, the Speech from the Throne doesn't hide the difficult challenges buttressing against our shores. Canada starts here, but with the American economy and many of our other European trading partners in economic trouble, it's like this car has front-wheel drive, and B.C. is going to be the engine for most of the country. Like in politics, economic momentum is easier to steer than to generate. But nonetheless, under the steady and capable hands of both the Finance and Jobs ministers, I know we are up to the challenge, and a challenge we are prepared for.

The challenges the province faces are both international and local. The burden to small business includes local regulation, provincial regulation, international competitors and the daily challenge of achieving sales to cover payroll.

For many B.C. businesses, the current economy is favourable, and international opportunities for their products and services remain strong. For others, the challenge is local and daily. Not all parts of the province are enjoying the same level of economic prosperity, and our government recognizes this and has a plan to increase job growth throughout British Columbia. Soon 97 percent of British Columbia will be connected to the Internet, meaning more of rural B.C. will have access to on-line services and be able to participate in the on-line economy.

When the economy turns around, as it will eventually do, the challenge of finding good workers will come back, especially in rural B.C. That is why government has committed to working with our federal counterparts to attract more entrepreneurs and more workers through the skilled worker program and the provincial nominee program.

The Speech from the Throne and the actions of this new government clearly demonstrate the pressing need for job stabilization and creation. The jobs plan is sound, and in this world of economic uncertainty, it is the right focus for our times.

The actions taken so far speak volumes — actions like the creation of a senior ministry focused on jobs, tourism and innovation; actions like supporting B.C.'s robust shipbuilding industry by investing in training for skilled workers; actions like doubling our trade presence in China and India, and leading a trade mission to those countries this fall; actions like focusing the job plan on a few key sectors that have the greatest potential for job creation.

With this new attitude, the new focus of this Premier and the charted course is one of hope. With her invigorating enthusiasm she is yelling: "Follow me." We are ready, because following her, we understand her destination and agree with her balanced approach to get there.

Like a big ship on stormy seas, Canada needs a navigator to lead the ship through those choppy waters. Following the course laid down in her first throne speech, our new Premier is navigating us through these rough seas. But she can't do it alone. She has engaged all British Columbians in the task of steering this ship in the same
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direction, for no large-going vessel can turn easily or quickly without the cooperation of all aboard.

Our country, our province, like any large ship, moves through the waters with so much mass that it takes a skilled captain to avoid crashing unsafely through the waters, through the waves. For the propellers to keep pushing the boat forward and not up out of the water, the captain must make constant adjustments, especially when the boat starts to move really fast or in rough seas.

To counteract this, ship rudders are engineered with little rudders of their own called trim tabs. These tabs adjust the pitch of the boat, allowing for maximum efficiency and a comfortable ride. We are the trim tabs, Madam Speaker. British Columbians are the trim tabs.

As we move forward, following the lead of our new Premier, we will steer a new, even more prosperous course and guide our ship up state into new, exciting and safe harbours, as long as we move together.

[1020]

I can't think of a better qualified first mate for our Premier than our Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation. In a recent communication to the crew he articulated eight key sectors we should focus on: forestry, mining, natural gas, agrifoods, technology, tourism, international education and transportation.

The first is forestry. B.C.'s forestry industry is on the rebound. Since 2003 when we focused on opening new markets in China and Hong Kong, exports have grown from $69 million to $687 million a year. That's tenfold. We know our market, have an international reputation as a stable supplier of high-quality wood products, and offer timber supply security.

The second area is mining. B.C.'s mining industry is booming. We have abundant mineral deposits and are well-positioned to meet growing global demand. More than half of Canada's exploration companies are based here in British Columbia, and we employ the world's highest concentration of mining professionals — geologists, engineers, prospectors, metallurgists, assayers, lawyers, accountants and financiers.

The government is investing $24 million across our natural resource ministries over two years in order to eliminate the backlog in key authorizations that are preventing projects from proceeding.

The third area is natural gas. More than half of the remaining natural gas in western Canada's sedimentary basin is right here in British Columbia. If natural gas prices stay where they are, this sector is on line to double production by 2020, bringing both jobs and investment opportunities. This is why government has committed to enabling the development and operation of three LNG terminals by 2020.

The fourth is agrifoods, and I'm sure that the Minister of Agriculture is listening attentively to this one. British Columbia leads Canada in sales of blueberries, cranberries, sweet cherries and raspberries. Growers produce food with strong health benefits, a low environmental footprint and an ethical approach. Emerging markets, particularly on the Pacific Rim, will drive demand for trusted and high-quality foods.

The fifth is technology. B.C. is home to world-class high-tech companies. The demand for digital, wireless and screen-based-environment entertainment is on the rise. In 2010, India and China alone added more than 300 million wireless subscribers. Imagine that — almost the population of the United States. China's market for a green technology is forecast to grow to $1 trillion in just two years alone.

The sixth is tourism — a big driver where I come from, of course. British Columbia is a choice tourism destination. Global international arrivals will grow to 1.6 billion by 2020, an average of 4.5 percent growth per year. Almost 18,000 tourism companies in B.C. create most of the 128,000 jobs in the industry, and by 2019 we expect that to grow to 196,000 jobs.

The seventh is international education. I've had the privilege of teaching many international students in my ten years of post-secondary education and have found they were wonderful students, keen and willing to learn. British Columbia has a reputation for educational excellence. In 2010, 94,000 international students came to British Columbia to study in our kindergarten-to-grade-12, post-secondary and language schools in Canada. It's a growth industry, and by 2035 global demand for international education is predicted to more than double, to over seven million students.

Last, but not least, is transportation. Companies in B.C., the U.S. and Asia look to the Pacific Gateway for quick connections across the Pacific. Vancouver, Kitimat and Prince Rupert are Asia's closest ports of entry on the west coast, closer than Los Angeles and Long Beach. Steady improvement to ports, rail, roads and airports is key and highlighted in the throne speech.

Madam Speaker, studies on successful entities clearly show that to be successful, you must either focus your efforts on niches where you have a competitive advantage, as we are doing in British Columbia and highlighted in the throne speech, or go big, as Wal-Mart and China are doing. Those in the middle, going in many different directions without a clear focus or competitive advantage, are more likely to fail.

[1025]

Compromises will be needed, of course. The opportunity to increase energy production in clean or cleaner energy such as water and natural gas, rather than the compromise of buying electricity from coal-fired plants outside the province, is clear.

Accessing cleaner energies while employing more British Columbians is one of this government's goals. Our compromises include developing new mines that work in a highly energy-efficient way to produce jobs
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that support health care, education and other social programs in our province. Our compromises include finding the resources to retrain the unemployed and underemployed for tomorrow's economy.

These are uncertain seas and rough water for the ship of our provincial economy. Even if your area of the economy is on calm or sheltered waters, many of our fellow British Columbians are not so fortunate and know they are on open waters. The commitment to employment-focused activities of the Premier is something for all of us to embrace and demonstrates that government understands we are all on the ship together.

This includes simplifying the process of business registration and employment administration, both provincially and locally. Big ways to increase employment are harder to find and include the Site C hydroelectric project and promoting the use of more natural gas. Opportunities in energy development, production and efficiency remain.

The world economy sees challenges in many areas that we do not. The challenge of losing hours of work or jobs in the hospitality industry in British Columbia is real and affects many. Construction workers who are now working only one or two weeks a month need government focused on improving the need for approvals for construction, especially manufacturing, energy and infrastructure projects — a key of the throne speech.

October is Small Business Month in British Columbia, and government will take this opportunity to focus on job creation. As part of the B.C. jobs plan, government has committed to increasing B.C.'s successful small business venture capital program, with tax credits to $33 million annually. These funds will further encourage angel investors to invest their own capital directly into an eligible small business. The program currently supports up to $100 million a year in total investments, a great success story.

Prior to politics I started and ran a number of successful small businesses. I understand the pressures of meeting a payroll and the significant role that small business plays in creating jobs and supporting families. In fact, small business accounts for 57 percent of all private sector employment in the province, the second-highest rate in the country, and makes up 30 percent of the province's GDP.

This government gets it. Their business-friendly actions of tax reductions, streamlined regulations for business, improved labour mobility between provinces, new and upgraded transportation infrastructure, new trade offices and trade missions to attract investment from Asia, and billions and billions of dollars invested in expanding our post-secondary education system to support our youth preparing for jobs of tomorrow clearly demonstrate their commitment — our commitment — to small business owners, managers and employers throughout the province.

I was very pleased to hear that the overarching message of care and change contained in the throne speech was extended to those who respond to emergency calls in B.C. Through their patient, persistent advocacy, our provincial firefighters are on the cusp of gaining for themselves and many other first responders around this great province, like our paramedics and peace officers, the right to know if they have been exposed to a communicable disease, as is already available in five other provinces.

It was my privilege through five weeks this summer to travel the province, speaking with first responders about their bill. From Fernie to Comox, from Osoyoos to Fort St. John, and from Kelowna to the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, those that rush into buildings when we are rushing out are united and appreciative of the action I hope we in this chamber will be taking in the months to come, the passage of the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act.

Over the five weeks we shared knowledge of how the bill would work. We talked about the caring nature of this new Premier in encouraging a private member such as myself to introduce the bill, and we shared stories from the front lines that I will share in due course with all members of this House and the people of B.C.

If I may, Madam Speaker, I'd like to share one of those stories now. It comes from Cheryl McKinnon, and I will read it as if she was telling it herself.

"I was an EMA 1 for B.C. Ambulance and was cut by a piece of glass which had previously contacted the blood from a patient. We transported said patient to the emergency room where both she and I were admitted.

[1030]

"After washing and scrubbing with bleach, I asked the doctor to request she be tested for a communicable disease. I was told they would ask her, but if she said no, there was nothing they could do. Even though she lived an at-risk lifestyle, she was not obligated to submit to blood work.

"The doctor in emergency took me to a quiet room and proceeded to tell me I was now at risk for infection from a number of communicable diseases and that I would require frequent blood work, as would my close family members, and also that I must take precautions with my husband and use protection when we had sexual relations for the rest of our lives. They also stated my life may be shortened up to ten years, if I don't die from liver cancer before then.

"I followed all my doctor's suggestions, and when I asked him if he could find out the original patient's information so we could test her for the same gene of virus, he said we could not.

"Now here I am, years later, infected with hepatitis C, diagnosed by the Red Cross during a blood donation clinic. I'm suffering from fibromyalgia. I am unable to work, and there's no way to prove that my virus was caused by that particular contact. Therefore, my circumstances are not part of any statistics, and I'm not entitled to any compensation.

"I was forced to support my family on CPP disability benefits of less than $10,000 a year. I am unable to acquire any insurance, and every health professional I see…. Even to get my nails done, I'm socially obligated to inform them that I have a blood-borne illness.

"My kids still require regular testing. I've had a liver biopsy and have regular blood work. Treatment is only available if my liver
[ Page 7916 ]
counts remain at 200 percent higher than normal, which only occurred once for me, and then my counts lowered and became stable — as stable as they could be, infected with the replicating virus. Therefore, I am not eligible for treatment, though I am seen regularly attending clinics for those suffering from other communicable diseases.

"I have taken all precautions and was accidentally infected. My family has been affected in many ways and my life altered. Had I been able to show the connection between her virus and mine, my company may have been able to support me through my illness, my health care and insurance would have been continued, and my family and I would have a better quality of life.

"I understand that people have the right to control what happens to their own body, but if they are involved in a circumstance where their illness may have threatened the life of another, then they should be required to submit a sample for testing.

"I'm so glad that you've taken the time to help.

"Mrs. Cheryl King McKinnon."

What more can I say? Health issues impact most of us individually, as in the case of Cheryl McKinnon, and collectively throughout British Columbia.

In 2010 the provincial government spent just over $16 billion on health care. That's up from slightly under $9 billion ten years ago, an increase of 75 percent. Of that $16 billion, hospitals received over $7 billion, over a hundred percent increase. Physicians received $2.6 billion, a 33 percent increase. Prescribed and non-prescribed drug expenditures cost the province $929 million, a 56 percent increase.

Capital investment accounted for $955 million, a 143 percent increase. Public health accounted for $1.4 billion, a 126 percent increase, and other spending accounted for $1.6 billion, a 233 percent increase. Overall, for 2011-12 health care accounts for approximately 40 percent of our entire provincial budget.

Are these increases sustainable? On this question, our Premier has once again offered a new direction — a bold direction — and charged the bipartisan Select Standing Committee on Health to get back to work, after a five-year hiatus, to examine the projected impact on the provincial health care system of demographic, inflation and usage trends to the year 2036 on a sustainable health care system for British Columbians today and tomorrow; outline potential alternative strategies to mitigate the impact of the demographic, inflation and usage trends on the provincial health system; and identify current public levels of acceptance toward alternative strategies.

Clearly, a families-first agenda, combined with a jobs agenda, can only be helped by working collaboratively with the people of British Columbia toward a long-term, sustainable, strategic vision for our health care system. It is the third leg of the stool upon which our economic and social future rests.

[1035]

Our Premier recognizes the challenges, has the courage to address them head-on and is leading the country in an area that politicians, so far, have chosen to ignore.

In conclusion, hon. Speaker, economies go through periods of growth, stability, recession and recovery. Our province, including Kelowna–Lake Country, is not immune. I remember starting my first business in 1980 when interest rates topped 20 percent. We persevered in the past, and with a little belt-tightening and the eventual economic recovery, I am certain we will see the fruits of our sacrifices in a few years.

We must continue with the disciplined taxation and spending. We must continue to understand the fact that we have prospered in large part because of exports in a globally competitive economy. We must continue to plan and build for the knowledge economy of tomorrow. Only this way can we leave our children and grandchildren with the province and country worthy of their promise.

We need to address the economic challenges we currently face head-on and provide the leadership that will help our citizens and businesses modernize, improve productivity and reap the eventual rewards that come through hard work and self-sacrifice. Our challenges are no different than many faced by others throughout the world. The throne speech sends a clear signal that our Premier and our government have a plan and are ready to lead British Columbians as we together implement that plan.

We are ready to innovate, add value, take risks and compete for capital, for human resources and for sales. Competition is good. It keeps us on our toes, makes us more effective, more productive, more efficient, more innovative and eventually more successful. Lee Iacocca said it best, I think: "You either" — in business — "lead, follow or get out of the way."

Small businesses get it, big business gets it, entrepreneurs get it, and we get it. We will lead where necessary and work to get out of the way where we're stunting responsible growth.

Hon. Speaker, we're up to the challenge. All British Columbia is up to the challenge. I am proud to represent the good people of Kelowna–Lake Country. I am very proud to live in this great province where even a poor kid from a working-class, multicultural family like myself can achieve his dream of one day standing amongst the company of great men and women of all political parties, united in service above self and dedicated to the common good. British Columbians have asked for change. We now have that change — positive, well-thought-out change led by a positive, forward-thinking, caring Premier and her government.

This is our time. This is B.C.'s time. Le Canada commence ici. Canada starts here. This is our rightful place, hon. Speaker, and there's no stopping us now. Thank you very much.

M. Dalton: It gives me great pleasure today to second the motion by the member for Kelowna–Lake Country. I did enjoy the French, but I won't respond in French because I have to give notification to the Speaker in advance, except for saying merci.
[ Page 7917 ]

I hope the House will indulge me for a few moments as I express appreciation to different ones. The first person I would like to express my appreciation to is my lovely wife, Marlene, who is sitting in the gallery. We have been married for 26 years. I want to thank her for her love and support. I'm a better person and more effective because of her. She's been along my side the entire time. We made a decision right when I got elected that she would just support me and be with me. Most times when we're in Victoria, she is here also. The electorate got two for one when they voted for me.

I also want to thank my children. They're not really children anymore. They're grown. When anybody gets elected there's a real impact upon family life because of all the time commitments. I know my wife sometimes has asked that. "Well, Saturday?" But Saturday for an MLA is a work day. There are many different events, as we all know.

[1040]

I thank my son, Justin. Justin works in Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories. He's setting up an aboriginal youth treatment centre, and he is also working on his MBA at SFU. I would like to thank my daughter, Simone, and my other daughter, Hannah. One is attending SFU, and the other is working. We're very proud of them both.

I'd also like to recognize my father, Peter Dalton, and his new wife, Cleo — well, not new, been married five years. She's our new mother and grandmother. They're in Enderby right now, and they're watching on television, so I do know there is somebody watching. They've just been a great support and inspiration over the years. Cleo Jones ran a logging operation. She's quite the woman.

My father was in the Canadian Armed Forces for 36 years. One of my first memories of him was when I was in my crib. I don't know if I could speak or not, but I do remember that he wore the uniform. I had a great admiration for him then, was very impressed, and I'm still very impressed with him. He's been a great example to me.

He's been suffering over the past year with rheumatoid arthritis. I never realized what a disease that is and what impact it has. I know that he appreciates the medical attention he's been receiving. So my thoughts and prayers are with him.

It was he that actually nudged me to join the military, the reserves, when I was completing grade 12. I guess nudged would be too light a word. I mean, he encouraged, pushed me.

The big factor for me then was hair. Hair was a little bit longer in those days, and I did have to go through a process. I think it was either two or three — and I could exaggerate more — haircuts, but no, it was about two or three.

Anyways, I do encourage young people, when they're thinking about careers, to consider the military. It's a great experience. I want to commend the Conservative government for restoring the term "Royal" to the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Canadian Navy. I know that's been very well received by vets — not just the veterinarians but by our vets.

I want to specifically thank my constituents in Maple Ridge–Mission for electing me. People come to me, as I suppose they come to all the members here, and they ask me how I'm doing. I can read in their eyes, thinking: "Oh, the poor guy." But I want to say that it's been a tremendous honour and blessing to be elected, to be able to serve my constituents. It's a lot of work, but it's satisfying, and I'm pleased to be able to give a hand to people and to this province.

There was a recall effort against me a little earlier this year. I don't wish that upon any of the other members here. But I do want to say thank you to my constituents for giving up the effort after about 2½ weeks. They had signed up about 2,500 people out of the 14,000, so it never really took off. Nevertheless, I am thankful that that is a thing of the past.

One thing I must say is that my time in office in this last term has not been boring. I want to recognize right now the team. All of us have a support team behind us, and I want to recognize those in the Legislature here that support me — Ryan Pineo, Marc Wang, Heather Doi and the whole host of others that support me and support each one of us as MLAs and the people of British Columbia. So thank you to them.

I must say thank you, too, to my constituency assistants: Wilson Sieg in Maple Ridge, along with Carly Fedyshen; Sharen Parkinson in Mission; and Nicole Paul, who was an intern.

I did a lot of door-to-door over the summer, and one thing I was very surprised and very pleased about was just the number of people who said how much that I'd helped them, that the office had helped them. That's great to hear. It's the work day in and day out that our office personnel do to assist people that makes the difference. That's probably one of the most pleasurable aspects of this position — just the impact we can have as legislators in the lives of people facing the difficulties and challenges that they have.

[1045]

I also have that political arm, as we all do, in that I can't forget to thank my constituency riding association, including Craig Rudd, my president, and Marc Dixon, the vice-president, as well as the entire team.

Whatever side of the House we are on, we're driven to seek this position because we want to make a difference. There's a lot that we agree upon. I see smiles over here from the Leader of the Opposition. There are a lot of things we agree upon.

Now, there are some things we don't agree upon, and that's okay. That's democracy. But it is our desire to leave our society a better place for the next generation. I want
[ Page 7918 ]
to thank everyone here for their hard work, and I look forward to a productive session.

We are nearing the municipal election, and I'd also like to recognize the different mayors in my communities, including the mayor, Ernie Daykin. Mayor Daykin is going to be unchallenged, and that is quite remarkable for Maple Ridge, which has not seen a two-term mayor for many moons. He's done a great job, and I congratulate him.

In Mission we have Mayor James Atebe. Pretty much everybody knows James. He is the Kenyan that moved to Canada in order to become a cowboy. He was impressed with Canada, and he actually did become a cowboy. He's not a cowboy now — well, maybe in his heart. Everywhere I go, I see him. He's doing great work for the community.

Finally, I also want to recognize Pitt Meadows's mayor. He's not exactly a constituent. Pitt Meadows — I don't represent them, but I have a close relationship with them. I want to thank Don MacLean for his years of service. He is retiring, and he told me a few days ago that he is contemplating moving to Ecuador and — I don't know — buying a hacienda, if they have haciendas down there. I wish him well and thank him — also, all the councillors and school trustees in my constituency as well as everywhere else.

I want to make special mention of Coun. Paul Horn from Mission, Coun. Linda King from Maple Ridge, school trustees Kathie Ward and Stepan Vdovine for their efforts and what they've done for the community. They will not be seeking re-election.

I would like to congratulate my Member of Parliament, Randy Kamp. He's done an excellent job. He's been elected four times now, and that's in seven years. He's quite pleased to be able to have four years ahead of him, and it's been a pleasure to be able to work with him and the different municipal councillors. I think that having a good relationship with our other local officials is good for everybody, for the communities.

Well, the time since the last election has been a wild ride. We had the Winter Olympics, the HST referendum, and both parties saw a leadership race. But it is time to refocus on a new plan that will serve our province and people well into the future, and I'm happy to respond to this throne speech.

The Premier has energy, vision and compassion. She brings that the forefront, and I do appreciate this about her. I do appreciate her responsiveness to making changes — for example, the gaming grants. We've made additions to the gaming grants. There was the proposed hydro increase. That was cut.

Park fees — that was changed. I know that's especially appreciated in my neck of the woods. We have Golden Ears Provincial Park. It's the number one–visited park in British Columbia, and now there's no fee, so that's great. And I do appreciate that she did not call an election.

Interjections.

M. Dalton: Yes, thank you. Yeah, you bet. But we all did. I'm hearing that from both sides. I know everybody was very happy.

The economy worldwide has been on a wild ride also. We made it through an economic collapse in the world relatively unscathed. In spite of the move away from HST to a PST, I was very pleased that Standard and Poor's confirmed B.C. with its triple-A credit rating. [Applause.] I will clap, yes. Thank you. That's a big thing because that is an independent analysis, and that means a lot.

[1050]

What does it mean? It means more cash in the bank for us, because a higher or lower rate, credit rating, means tens of millions of dollars less, and that means tens of millions of dollars less for health care, for schools, for services. It's very important, so maintaining that is essential. It's something that we cannot take for granted.

We look at the States. They had their first credit-rating decrease in, I believe, about 80 years. That is costing them, probably, many billions of dollars. I believe it was last week that New Zealand saw a credit decrease.

British Columbia is seen as a place that is fiscally responsible and a safe place to invest, and that's essential. But once again we are facing uncertain times, and we're not immune to the problems that are plaguing Europe and our neighbours to the south. There are riots in Greece — there have been — and there are tens of thousands of people that have been emigrating from Ireland.

The effective unemployment rate in the United States is, I believe, at least 17 percent. It's 9 percent to 10 percent officially. But when you consider those who have given up and those who are working part-time though they want to work full-time, they're in a really difficult situation. That impacts us because British Columbia's No. 1 trading partner still is the United States. Much of our wealth and employment is tied to the trade with the States.

It's vitally important that we do all we can to protect ourselves and insulate our province from another collapse. This is very challenging, and it's demanding the full attention of our provincial government.

I do not envy the Minister of Finance. There are limited resources, and there are a lot of requests. I must admit that it's much more pleasurable to be able to have fistfuls of dollars and to be able to give it away for different worthy causes.

There's never enough money. No matter how much money you have, there's never enough, but particularly now. We are facing a great challenge, and we are committed to a balanced budget in 2013-2014. That's tough when revenue projections are down, and that's outside of our control.
[ Page 7919 ]

Now, debt is a major factor in why nations across the world are having tremendous challenges. I may just say you might want to pay attention to this right here, Members. This is not, well, a Churchillian quote, but I thought this was pretty good. I made it up. If you live too high on the hog, you may end up living with the hogs. Do you like that? No. Okay.

We just have to manage. We have to be very prudent and careful. It is tough, especially when there are so many legitimate needs. They are genuine and legitimate needs, so what we must do is grow our economy, do all that we can to grow our economy.

Canada faced this same debt problem in the past. I believe we had approaching 30 percent of tax revenues in Canada going to service the debt. That's $30 out of every $100 received going to service the debt. It took a long time and much hardship and many cutbacks to reduce it to the state that it is now.

It's a vicious cycle. We do not want to go there. If we don't take control, debt takes control of us. Then drastic measures become forced upon us, and that is just not fair and not prudent for our children and our grandchildren. So I think we need to keep that in mind and have stiff resolve.

It's imperative that we focus on strengthening our economy and creating jobs. There are three things that are key for the Premier and this government: families, jobs and open government.

Our Premier recently announced the B.C. jobs plan. It's designed to protect and create jobs for British Columbians, and we're going to do this in three ways.

First, expand markets for B.C. products. We're going to strengthen our infrastructure and thus our ability to get products to the market.

[1055]

Finally, we're going to work with employers in communities to enable job creation, keeping in mind that a trained workforce is one of the many ways we can combat unemployment.

A key aspect of this is focusing on increasing our presence in Asia. Asia, particularly India and China, is projected to have the largest middle class in the world. India in particular has an incredibly large workforce. Many economists believe what is allowing India to flex its economic muscles is not only the size of its workforce but its ability to ensure that many are trained and educated.

As the Asian middle class grows, so too will its ability and desire to consume B.C. products. That's really important. The demand is there. I believe it was mentioned that the price of natural gas in Asia is two or three times more than the price that we can get for it here. It's so important for us to get that out, because that generates the revenues, the tax dollars, the jobs, the employment for British Columbia.

B.C. has some big advantages — the B.C. advantages. One advantage, the primary advantage, is our people. We are a well-educated and hard-working people. That's partly due, as far as the education, to the new colleges and universities. There are seven new universities that have been built, that have been formed, in the past ten years. That is really important. It helps students.

One of the big costs for students above tuition — as a matter of fact, even more expensive than tuition for many students — is living away from home. This way, students are able to save so much of their money and are able to stay at home and go to a college or a university near them.

It's projected over ten years that nearly 80 percent of jobs will require some form of post-secondary education, so having a trained, educated workforce will be vital for unlocking B.C.'s future economic potential.

We have hundreds of thousands of British Columbians that have their origins, their first or second generation, from Asia. They're from China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand — so many countries. This is a natural link with Asia and the world. There's an understanding of culture, and there's the opportunity for business ties. This is an advantage for us, and we want to build upon this.

Another advantage that we have as a province is our location. We're three days closer in sailing time to Asia. Why is that important? Well, it means that the shipping companies have to pay less fuel, less salaries for their employees and that the companies here that are buying goods can get it a lot quicker, either exporting or importing. Time is money.

That's why we have a commitment to building up the Port of Prince Rupert and also Deltaport. It's vital. The majority of Canada's shipping to Asia is through British Columbia, Canada's Pacific Gateway.

We have other advantages, including our natural resources. Our mines — every job in the mining industry is $100,000 plus. Our aim is to have eight new mines operating and nine new expansions by 2015. We look around at places like Princeton, where over 200 jobs were recently started with the opening of the copper mine there. That has brought new life to that community. This is happening throughout this province.

What happens in these remote communities in the hinterlands — whether it be because of oil and gas or with forestry, whatever it may be — with the revenues and the economy that is built up there is important for all British Columbians. It impacts us here in the Lower Mainland, whether it be for health or for education or whatever it may be. That pays for infrastructure or for the services that we need and expect.

That's one reason why we have committed, in the throne speech, $24 million over the next two years to help eliminate the permit backlog. It's because this backlog with permits slows down economic growth, and we need to get that moving.

[1100]
[ Page 7920 ]

Forestry has seen new life breathed into it in the past number of years, thanks to the Minister of Jobs. It's been an important factor there. The Asian markets have been vital to that. As a matter of fact, this year China alone…. Well, we exported as much lumber to China as we did to the United States. That's great for our province.

The Premier recognizes that our transportation infrastructure is truly the backbone of our economy. Our ability to effectively move goods and people is a key for our future success. I'm proud of the numerous infrastructure projects that we have seen across this province, no matter what region.

Some that come into my mind are the Sea to Sky Highway. That's a beautiful road leading to Whistler and an entire section of the province. Whistler is so important for the economy as far as tourism.

Then there's the Canada Line. The Canada Line from Vancouver to the international airport has taken enough traffic off the road…. It's almost as if you built a ten-lane highway, because we were anticipating 100,000 passengers a day on that Canada Line. We're actually three years ahead. We've surpassed that mark. That is so important for the province.

Then there's the Evergreen line going into the northeast section of the Lower Mainland to Coquitlam and Port Moody. That's a $580 million investment on the part of the province, and then the federal government is investing, as well as…. I know that the Metro is looking into getting the money for this. Now, there are heavy upfront costs to these lines, but the operating costs now are fully met. As a matter of fact, they're more than met.

I'd like to put a little plug here for the West Coast Express. We did see an addition. I am appreciative we did see more trains — not as far as trains, but as far as more cars on the trains. The stations have also been developed, but I'd like to see increased service. I'm working on that, along with other mayors. I know that there is a study that's going to be underway, but we want to move forward with that.

Then I would be remiss not to mention the Port Mann project. Now, I attended the 50 percent completion of the project, and I had the privilege of going up to one of those towers, right where all the cables came. I was not hanging on one of them. I did look down. But it is a beautiful sight, if you're not scared of heights.

There's a lot more than bridge, though, in this project. It's about $2½ billion, and it will expand the bridge from the current five lanes to ten lanes, and it will be the widest-span bridge in the world.

Now, that's only part of it. There are also over 20 intersections that are being added or improved and 37 kilometres of road widening. The Cape Horn itself is seeing hundreds of millions of dollars invested into that redevelopment, and it's an incredible project.

I was talking with one engineer, one of the supervisors. He was saying that last year they had to make 60 detours — and each detour is quite the feat — and this year another 60 detours just for the Cape Horn. So it's a marvel of engineering.

Now, what does this mean to the average mom or dad that's commuting? Well, I did some calculations. Time for the math people here to wake up. I figured I'd be very conservative. That's my nature. One hour a day — okay? Say half an hour one way and half an hour back. I think that really you could say an hour and a half, but we'll base it on one hour.

So one hour, if you're working five days a week, is equal to five hours a week. Now, I figured, okay, the average working person takes, let's say, three weeks, and then…. We'll say 47 weeks. So 47 weeks times five is 235 hours of less commuting a year — at least.

If the average work day is eight hours, that equals approximately 30 days less of work — 30 days. That's six weeks. That's pretty impressive. That means 29.3 days, but let's say 30 — sounds better — less time sitting in your car, crawling in traffic; 29 days less of emitting pollutants; 29 days, 30 days, less of wear and tear on your vehicle. And businesses are saving billions of dollars.

[1105]

Furthermore, it's the first time in decades that we're going to see transit. There is a cycling lane, and it's designed to put light rail underneath it.

[L. Reid in the chair.]

This is great. This is great for families. It's great for British Columbia. It's great for the economy — it's good news — and improves the quality of life.

Now, I know nobody likes to pay tolls, but I did some calculations there too. I'm not going to go into the calculations, but I assure you that it is well worth the money. We have seen that with the Golden Ears Bridge, which leads from Langley to Maple Ridge. That has made a big difference in our community. It has cut down commuting times. People are less stressed that use it.

This year Maple Ridge was voted the No. 5 place to do business in Canada, and the infrastructure improvements have had a lot to do with it. In my riding there's been four-laning between Maple Ridge and Mission. That's $25 million. There are still stretches to go, and we're working on that — putting in plugs whenever I can with the Minister of Transportation. It was a first meeting with him, when he was still unpacking his boxes. I had a meeting with him and will continue to work on that.

A little earlier this year we had the HOV lane in Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows. That's $20 million.

Then I can't forget we had another bridge. You have to mention these bridges, because bridges don't just come every year or two, at least in a certain area. They seem to be, though, in our area. That is the Pitt Meadows bridge. That's a $200 million structure that has helped with commuting times, and also the overpass.
[ Page 7921 ]

I do want to say thank you for that overpass. I have bad memories of the traffic light there, and my wife does too. We were at the light, and a car was travelling 80 kilometres per hour — actually, probably 90 — and smashed us as we were at that light and went through the window, and we're still suffering from it.

These infrastructure projects are not just quality of life and being less stressed, but it is also a matter of safety. So there are good things happening in British Columbia.

I want to mention also an infrastructure project in my area, the Ruskin dam. That's an $800 million project. I believe it's the oldest dam right now in British Columbia that's functioning. It would be nice, with dams, if you could build them and then they would just stay there, but they do need to have seismic upgrades, and it's expensive. We have to put that investment in. If you manage your financial resources, then you can do these sorts of things. It is called prudence. It's a matter of looking at everything and seeing how much we can allocate towards health care, towards infrastructure…. It's all important and valuable.

Another importance of the jobs platform is international students. Now, I've heard a little bit of mocking about: "Oh, international students. Everybody wants international students." Well, that's right. But I believe we have a lot to offer here, and we do have a lot to offer. If we fail to plan, we plan to fail. Vision is so important, and we do have a plan to increase the number of international students by 50 percent over the next four years. This is important for our post-secondary….

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.

M. Dalton: All right. Thank you.

A. Dix: Thank you very much, hon. Speaker. It is wonderful to be back.

I'm sorry. The member, I think, has a point of order.

M. Dalton: My point of order, Madam Speaker, is that I believe I have 40 minutes. As I'm seconding the throne speech, I do have another ten minutes.

A. Dix: I'd be happy to give the member his extra time, an extra ten minutes, if that's the fair will of the House, and I'll start at 11:20.

M. Dalton: Thank you very much for your graciousness. I focus upon the member of the opposition, the leader, as I appreciate his radiant smile, encouraging me forward in my speech. I am shuffling my pages right here. We will maybe even make it less than ten. Maybe I'll make it in two. You never know.

[1110]

International students are so important, not only at the post-secondary level. What they do…. The tuition paid by international students help increase capacity and opportunities for domestic students and provide money for capital improvements. We've seen that in Kamloops, in Thompson. They estimate that about $1.2 million from last year's tuition from international students helped with their capital projects.

It doesn't just help at that level. It also helps at the secondary and elementary school levels. I know school districts, including areas which are growing, such as mine, are nevertheless seeing fewer children. With international students, encouraging them to come here and seeing this grow, the number of students increase, what it does is it increases the number of teachers and keeps them employed. It actually prevents some of our schools from closing down. This is just a very important aspect of our jobs platform.

I don't want to forget health care. There have been billions of dollars put into health care and capital infrastructure. I do want to mention one very important one for my area. That's the Mission Memorial Hospital. It seems they have a flashback just to two and a half years ago when there were protests with what was happening there. There were concerns about the emergency ward closing. I know that the member for Abbotsford-Mission and I also had numerous meetings with the Minister of Health and different stakeholders. Anyway, that has turned around.

There is going to be a 200-bed campus of care for seniors of 128,000 square feet and also a community health centre of 27,000 square feet for programs including primary care, a diabetes and seniors clinic, public health, home health, mental health, addictions — space for all these types of needs. They'll also be leasing space for community partners such as physicians and retailers. So that's great news for Mission and my constituency, and I'm just very pleased about that. Right now there's a request for proposals for tender happening, and construction is expected to be finished by 2013.

There's also in my area the building of Alouette Home Start transition home, which will house 45 units of supportive housing. The B.C. Liberal government is committed to helping those that are less fortunate among us, and we have seen a real reduction in the level of homelessness across this province.

Madam Speaker — Madame. It's my French. I am Métis also — okay? — and of aboriginal ancestry. Hunting, fishing, smoking fish, canoeing was all part of my upbringing that we enjoyed in remote military bases. My dad prided himself on some of his Métis recipes like pemmican and bannock. I'm proud of my aboriginal heritage tracing back to the fur traders in the west and the northern Cree, and I also have some Iroquois in me too.

I'm pleased we have been able, as a government, to connect more with First Nations and also with the Métis. We had a signing with the Ministry of Health. There's a process. I appreciate the recognition, and I appreciate
[ Page 7922 ]
the level of cooperation that the government is making with aboriginal people. It's essential.

I know that I've heard some comments, sometimes politicians saying, "Well, just wish them away" — you know, that they weren't there. But we are there, as far as the aboriginal people, and in areas where it's most needed, in the hinterlands. There are treaties in process, and there are different levels. We're very pleased with that. There are 60,000 Métis and 140,000 First Nations people in British Columbia, and they're also the fastest-growing population in British Columbia, which means the fastest-growing aspect of our workforce.

I think that there's real, positive movement, and I'm looking forward to the cooperative relationship between the government and the First Nations people in seeing the economy strengthen.

[1115]

Madam Speaker, it has been a pleasure to speak. The throne speech expresses a vision for the future but action items today — to see British Columbia becoming increasingly vibrant, healthy, prosperous and safe. We live in a great country and a great province. We're truly blessed.

I'm proud of our record as a government. We've achieved a lot in the last decade. It has been my privilege to serve with my fellow MLAs. I'm pleased about the direction we're heading. It's all about creating a better place to live, creating hope and more opportunities for our children and grandchildren.

With that, Madam Speaker, I'd like to second the motion.

Deputy Speaker: Member, thank you for your graciousness.

A. Dix: It's wonderful, of course, to be back in the Legislature. Ordinarily, in many legislatures across Canada, people get used to the idea that the democratically elected members come and speak in the Legislature, raise issues, try and solve problems and represent their constituents.

Here in B.C., I know, the government has tried a different path over the last couple years, a path where we sit infrequently, where we avoid issues, where we don't present problems to the public or resolve problems, where we lecture the public from the executive branch but don't have, I think, the respect for the legislative branch that is required. But, hopefully, that's something that will change.

I know, representing the NDP opposition, how proud we are to sit in this Legislature, to represent our constituents and to represent a voice that needs to be heard in British Columbia.

Now, there are a few things in the throne speech that I agree with. One is that B.C. needs new leadership and a new point of view. Sadly, in this throne speech they get neither — neither a new point of view, nor a new direction for our province, one that is, in fact, as we know, desperately needed.

The voices of British Columbians have been left out of this throne speech. What we hear is optimistic language that couches a pessimism that says that we do not believe in the future of our province. We on the opposition side throughout this session, throughout this throne speech, are going to present a different point of view, one that focuses on the positive, focuses on what we can do together, focuses on what the previous generation did and how we can sustain and improve on that. That is going to be our role as an opposition in this session.

All of us get sustained in that fact, sustained in our optimistic view of the province, of the possibilities of British Columbia in spite of the negativity of the government and the negativity of the government's agenda. In spite of that, we believe in a sense of optimism because we represent communities that every day show that sense of optimism in how they live and how they live together.

I represent a riding, Vancouver-Kingsway, that may be the most diverse provincial riding of its kind in Canada. As they say, 83 percent visible minority, which redefines what's visible and what's a minority — people living together and working together. We recently celebrated in my neighbourhood, in the Collingwood neighbourhood, the 25th anniversary of Collingwood Neighbourhood House, an idea that in fact started in a home and then went to an actual house and then became an organization that served the whole community.

The founding person, inspiration behind it, was a woman named Terry Tayler, who fought hard and brought change and brought everyone in the community together to make that change happen — and not just some people, not just community groups, but business people. Concert Properties has been a key part of making that happen. Today there are an array of programs at that neighbourhood house that would make us proud, because there are volunteers and community members who made it happen.

At Windermere School, in my community, the students host every year a conference on climate change. It's on a professional day. No one has to come. It's a day off for the students, and 600 people came last year to talk about the future of the province and the future of the planet and what we can do as citizens to bring change to that. And 400 students at Windermere School volunteer in neighbouring schools.

They aren't pessimistic about the future of the province. They haven't given up on public services and public programs and public education and public health care. They believe that we can build a better future, and you bet we can.

[1120]
[ Page 7923 ]

You think of people on Kingsway, up and down Kingsway — my constituents, small business people, who often start small. Think of my friend Vishy Ganeshan, who started a small restaurant and now sends his products to restaurants all around the Lower Mainland. He started small. He showed me how much he made his first year of operation. He made $25,000. The government hasn't made it any easier. The HST didn't make it any easier. But he has fought through that because he believes in a better future.

He and his wife, Karthy — who, by the way, is on the board of the neighbourhood house and contributes to the community more in other ways — came to Canada. They set up a business. They contribute to the community. This is the optimism you get wherever you go in Vancouver-Kingsway.

I think of Gladstone Secondary School. I think of a teacher named Todd Ablett, who started a robotics program — a teacher there. I know that the government has made it a political point to be disrespectful of teachers in our public education system. I think that's unfortunate, because I think we all know in our communities, at an individual level, government likes a teacher. They don't like teachers. But we all know at an individual level what teachers can do in the community.

I think back to the robotics program. It was extracurricular. Todd put together this program. The students came together, and they competed in the world robotics championship. They have for the last three years. It took a lot for us to raise the money to send them.

The first year it was in Dallas, Texas. It was a time of great concerns at the border, Homeland Security concerns. So they worked six months to prepare for this competition. They had their robots ready and everything else. They went to the airport. They tried to clear customs, and the people at U.S. Customs said: "You're going to have to take those robots apart."

So they did. They went down. They arrived in Dallas, and they worked overnight and put everything back together. They worked on it. They prepared, and they finished fourth in the world in that competition, because in that school a teacher cared and because students saw the opportunity when a teacher cared to build something better.

Now, I think Gladstone School is a school that is known not just here in Canada but around the world for that robotics program. It's an extraordinary thing — what we can do when we are positive, when we're optimistic, when we believe in people and when we believe not just that politics is a debate between the wealthy few and their representatives, but when everybody is involved in politics, when we have programs that build the community and build the middle class.

Since I have become leader of the NDP, this year I have managed to visit 60 communities around B.C., and you get that same idea everywhere, not just in schools but in communities everywhere — a sense of the possibility.

People are not asking for a lot of support. But they have been profoundly let down by their government, a government that simply gets the economy wrong. Now, you know and I know that the last decade has seen the lowest growth of any government in my lifetime — 2 percent economic growth.

I think that it's easy, of course, because it would be easy for me to say: "It's the lowest economic growth, and it is all the government's fault." Clearly, there are challenges in the economy. But we have also seen a growth in inequality that is dramatic in our society, such that it affects the future of our province, the future capacity for economic growth of our province, higher inequality, a squeezed middle class, a giant gulf between low-income people and the opportunity to enjoy the rights and the opportunities that we did as a generation.

The highest child poverty rate in the country for eight consecutive years. Unlike other provinces, no plan to address it. It's not an ideological question. They have a plan in Newfoundland, a Conservative government. They have a plan in Nova Scotia, NDP government. They have a plan in Quebec, Liberal government, and a plan in Manitoba, NDP government.

But here in British Columbia, even though we have the highest levels of child poverty and the highest absolute levels of inequality of any province in Canada, we have no plan. But we know that this is a crucial role for the provincial government — to support middle-class people and reduce inequality in our province. It's one of the key things we do. It's one of the advantages of having public health care and public education.

[1125]

In fact, a strong middle class is not the outcome of economic growth and the actions of multinational corporations. A strong middle class is the source of economic growth. Lower inequality can be the source of economic growth.

The government seems to have forgotten this. They've forgotten it in terms of taxation. At a time when we are supposedly having a throne speech that throws around the word "family" as if it was some sort of talisman for the government…. And yet, raising MSP premiums. Raising long-term care fees. They brought in the HST. They brought in additional taxes on carbon, and they have made middle-class people pay and pay and pay at a time when they are finding it more and more difficult to afford to live in our province.

When the gulf between people who have a home and don't have a home, between neighbourhoods and between communities has grown, the government has decided to shift the burden onto the very people who are being squeezed. This is the opposite of what we should be doing in terms of promoting an entrepreneurial society. It
[ Page 7924 ]
is the opposite. Squeezing the middle class is the wrong economic plan for our province.

If you want an entrepreneurial society, you know this. The vast majority of entrepreneurs — like my dad and like many others — is way beyond the number of people who might constitute the middle class, which in most societies, in our society, is probably, depending on what you calculate, between 30 and 50 percent. Well over three-quarters of entrepreneurs come from that group. Squeezing the middle class and increasing inequality and, in fact, engaging in policies that reduce social mobility is the wrong plan for an entrepreneurial economy, for a dynamic economy.

So we need a different path. We need a different path right now. Families are being squeezed. The middle class is being squeezed. Inequality is growing in our province. What do we get from the government? A jobs plan that believes, as they said at Citigroup…. You know, a few years ago they thought they had all the answers there. They said: "Economic growth is powered largely by the wealthy few and consumed largely by the wealthy few."

We have an economic plan, a so-called jobs plan, that ignores people. There is no plan, none, to address skills for the future, which should be at the centre of the plan. It should be at the centre of the plan to say: "How do we address the situation where 80 percent of the jobs of the future require post-secondary education?" There is a gap between what we have and where we're going, and there is nothing in the plan to fill that gap.

In fact, the government makes it harder and harder and harder — whether it's in Kamloops, in Kelowna where I've met with students in the last few weeks — for students to get access to post-secondary education. In fact, this is a huge worry. When we talk to families, middle-class families, other families, working families in the province, they know that their sons and daughters are going to need better training to get the jobs of the future. They're worried about whether they can afford to access that. The average student leaves university with a $27,000 debt. Surely that's not good enough.

The government, while they were cutting taxes for the banks, got rid of all the non-repayable grant programs for students, essentially. They are charging a high rate of interest for student loans. We as a generation — we can't forget this — need those students to go to school. This government is putting barriers in the way of them doing it.

That's why we have made specific proposals to improve that situation — why we have addressed this situation with specific proposals. We've said how we're going to pay for them. Just as the government paid for its tax cuts for the banks…. Its tax cut for the banks was supposed to build the number of financial institution jobs but saw that number drop after they gave the tax cut. They took the money and ran. They used the money they got from cutting off non-refundable student grants, $80 million in 2004, to subsidize tax cuts for the banks. That's what they did. I think that's the wrong investment in our future.

We need to turn that around because at a time when we need more young people going to post-secondary education and more people of my age who may need to have a new career, who need new training opportunities to go to post-secondary education and go to take advantage of training programs, the government has made it more difficult.

[1130]

It is such a shortsighted, and obviously shortsighted, policy that needs to be changed. So we have been specific. We've set a path, and we have said what the government needs to do in this area.

They need to address the issue of student debt, and they need to address the issue of access. That group of students who right now cannot afford to go to school or have to take longer at school because they can only afford to be part-time students and delay their career paths significantly…. Students who go dramatically into debt, those groups of students who are at the heart, surely, of an entrepreneurial dynamic society…. Those groups of students should have access again to non-repayable student grants.

The idea that you can have a jobs plan…. I mean, you can call anything, I guess, a jobs plan. We've thought that perhaps it was more for the Premier a job plan. But it's a jobs plan; they call it a jobs plan. How you can have such a plan when the only really substantive things you can talk about are a pre-existing agreement with the federal government and the fact you can brag that you're not getting rid of the apprenticeship tax credit, and that's it….

At a time when every industry we meet…. My good friend from Columbia River–Revelstoke and I went and met with forest industry officials recently. What they say their number one priority is, is a skills shortage. As all of us know, under this government's forest policies we've lost 30,000 forest jobs — 30,000 forest jobs. We have a million more acres of not sufficiently replanted forests.

You meet with the forest industry. I'm not talking about the unions, although we meet with them too. You bet, because we meet with everybody on this side of the House. But the forest industry itself says: "Our biggest challenge is having trained and skilled employees for the future. That is what our biggest challenge is." That's what they say. It's a full range of employees and a full range of people in the forest industry we are missing, from biologists to foresters to millwrights — all of them facing a shortage.

We've had rural communities that under the policies of the government, which have not focused on rural B.C…. We've seen flight from those communities, especially of
[ Page 7925 ]
young people, at a time when, in the forest industry, they are going to need young people to take up those jobs in the future.

There is a profound disconnect that you hear about when you talk to the Urban Development Institute in terms of construction, a skills shortage there after the government dismantled our apprenticeship system. You hear from high-tech companies. You hear it all over the place. We need skilled workers for the new economy, and there is nothing in the jobs plan for that. Surely, giving access to people to fulfil their dream in post-secondary education is the right investment in the economy. Surely, investing in the skills of people….

You see this at Windermere and Gladstone as well, where hundreds of classrooms don't meet our class-size and composition limits. There has never been a time in our history, I think…. When we were growing up, when our generation was growing up in the 1980s, there was the idea that you could get a job when you came out of high school, and you could keep that job all your life. That is no longer possible for most people.

The economy is becoming more challenging, yet the government passed a law. We all know they passed a law that said there are class-size limits. They stripped collective agreements of those limits. Hon. Speaker, it might be uncharitable of me to mention who was the Minister of Education at the time that some of those things were passed.

It might be uncharitable, so I will not do that. But the bill numbers were 27 and 28. We know they were introduced on a Friday. There was another bill, Bill 29, which led to the largest layoff of female workers in Canadian history. The member for Vancouver–Mount Pleasant was there and can bear witness to what the government did. They introduced those bills. They caused years of disruption. They damaged classroom education. Now, today, 14,000 classrooms don't meet their own class-size and composition limit. Their actions were found to be illegal in the courts, and now they're claiming they have been inspired to action.

[1135]

You know, in 2002, hon. Speaker, if you were in grade 4, you just graduated. That is a generation that needed better from its government. Surely, the next generation, the generation of students in school now, deserves better from this government than the kind of lip service they are receiving.

Hon. Speaker, another aspect of the jobs plan was missing. I spoke earlier on our forest industry, which the government appears to have given up on. The value-added manufacturing industry and forestry — they appear to have given up on it. Thirty thousand jobs lost.

Interjection.

A. Dix: The member from Kamloops, I know, is extremely distressed by the absolute failure of his government's forest policy. The reality is that we continue a policy that exports raw logs out of our country at a time, surely, when we should be focusing on creating jobs and supporting communities. This policy, which continues on and on and on, which sees a forest industry without jobs….

Oh, I know we get lectures on the value of exports. Under the Liberal government our exports have fallen from $9 billion to $4 billion. That is their fault. How is that going? Not very well for workers. Not very well for the treasury. Not very well for the communities. Hon. Speaker, this is the nature of what they've done. We say we need to take action now, not in a few years — although those days are coming — but now, to ensure that we use B.C. resources to create jobs in British Columbia.

The shift towards raw log exports that we're seeing not only hurts those jobs. Not only is it the jobs we've lost, but it's the jobs that exist which are themselves competing for access to trees, which is a problem in our economy as well. The government's policy is simply out of control. It's costing us jobs. This is not a change in policy that has worked — 30,000 jobs lost. Lost more than half of our exports. It has not worked.

It has failed, hon. Speaker. It has failed utterly. But it is also a rejection of what we know in history. This is the land base that the people of B.C. own. We've managed it in partnership with the private sector and with communities over time. The government has broken those links. The consequence for communities is profound. We need to change that. We need to ensure, in fact, that we are investing in communities again.

No measure, I think, shows how shortsighted the government is than its smart meter plan. This is a case of them using the public sector to advance an agenda. That is an interesting agenda. It's $950 million to tell us how much energy we're using.

We believe, hon. Speaker, that you should have spent that money investing in the retrofitting of public buildings to actually save energy for British Columbia. Wouldn't that have made more sense, hon. Speaker? Wouldn't that have made more sense? It certainly would have created more jobs. It would have avoided the embarrassment for the government of sending out layoff notices when they were launching their jobs plan. It might have avoided that embarrassment for them. You know how interested I am in avoiding embarrassment for the government.

I think it shows a government that is disconnected from community, that is in fact, through its policies, which don't include people in a jobs plan…. It is all about us politicians being the best salespeople of all time. It's about them. They think that after ten years of government, this is about them, about what they do, about their image, about their trips to Asia. It's not. It's
[ Page 7926 ]
about communities and people in British Columbia. That's what it ought to be about.

That's why we also believe that we can use the purchasing power of government to create jobs in our communities, to support local communities. We're not alone in this; 60 percent of municipalities have some sort of local purchasing, local hire program already. Municipalities understand that. They understand the importance, the sustaining importance, of local communities, that local investment can have — local small businesses can.

You'll note — and my colleague from Saanich South, who is doing an outstanding job as our Agriculture critic, noted this in the throne speech — nothing for agriculture. Nothing for the future of agriculture.

[1140]

We have right-wing politicians in Vancouver dismissing urban agriculture, and we have a provincial right-wing government that is abandoning our agricultural industry. Apple growers, tree fruit growers in the Okanagan are suffering because there are Americans dumping into our market, and they do nothing to salvage the industry. It's an industry that's been worth hundreds of millions, that people have lived on for generations in the Okanagan, abandoned by a government in an area that, by the way, is entirely represented by Liberals. Now, that has to change, hon. Speaker. That has to change.

That's why we've put forward a specific plan to support the tree fruit industry. That's why we've put forward plans to focus — as many American communities do; 36 out of 50 American states use the idea — on using local food in local schools and hospitals. Here in British Columbia I think it is a pretty good idea to improve the quality of nutrition in our hospitals at a time when we need the best-quality food, surely, and to support local agriculture in communities.

How can it be that in the Fraser Valley and in the Okanagan — some of the best agricultural lands in the world, bar none — our hospitals import food? How can that be, and shouldn't we explore a better path than that, of using local food in local hospitals?

Shouldn't there be pilots right now to support an industry that is having short-term difficulties that the government doesn't mention in its jobs plan, doesn't mention in its throne speech? "It's not going well like the forest industry, so let's not mention it." That appears to be the approach of the plan.

Then we think of the issue of infrastructure. The throne speech talks about the Evergreen line. How long have they been talking about the Evergreen line? It's a celebration. They're having anniversaries of their announcements. They're celebrating. Every year they get up and say: "Happy birthday. The former Premier announced the Evergreen line."

The fact of the matter is that the province implemented…. I think this is a critical question. It is in fact divorcing people who believe in our community action from that action.

The government's decision, for example, to bring in a carbon tax but to give the majority of the proceeds to business. Not a penny of that carbon tax…. In fact, there is a deficit. We have to move medical services premiums or other forms of government revenue over to subsidize what the government did, which was to give away more in tax cuts.

Not a dime. People are paying and paying in communities — whether it's here in Victoria or whether it's in the communities represented by my friend from Juan de Fuca — looking for transit, who would support more transit if it came. All over Metro Vancouver, but all over the province in communities like Kamloops and Kelowna and Prince George, people want more transit. Young people believe in transit not just because they can't afford other means but because they believe in that kind of community action.

We introduced a carbon tax….

Interjections.

A. Dix: Hon. Speaker, the Liberal Party, which has allowed this chamber to sit 24 days in 16 months, doesn't want to hear from us. I understand that, but they'll get their chance. They'll get their chance.

I believe that some carbon tax revenues surely should be used to improve public transit across this province and that rural communities should support rural initiatives to address issues of climate change and to make life more affordable. Doesn't that make sense?

That is why I've been specific, and it's hard to do. I have said we should roll back corporate taxes to 2008 levels — in other words, 40 percent less than in 2001 — and use that money to support communities, to support transit, to reduce inequality.

Specific solutions. Specific solutions that are nowhere found in this throne speech. Specific solutions to the problems we see across British Columbia — that's the kind of opposition we are, and that is the kind of government they are.

[1145]

There are, of course, in the throne speech a variety of what we might call short snappers. The government believes, apparently, that just mentioning an issue is enough — right? And it's pretty frustrating, I can tell you.

Fifteen hundred people on Community Living wait-lists, 61 group homes closed since 2008, and the government mentions community living but has no plan to support the sector.

One of the most difficult things the members do…. It's not just members on this side. I know members on the other side work through these problems all the time. People come to their constituency office.
[ Page 7927 ]

I think that in my six years as an MLA, the most difficult case I dealt with was a guy who came to an office. He had an advocate with him. His wife had died recently. They had been married for decades. They had a son in his late 40s with developmental disabilities, and they did everything right in their lives. He worked, and his wife took care of the home. He was dealing with the grief of that and, of course, their son.

He was taking care of the grief of that, and there was nothing for him. I mean, can you imagine what he saved the public treasury, what he saved the state for having done that for so long, what his wife had done, all they had contributed? It's an extraordinary thing. I mean, this is a person who should get the Order of B.C. And there was nothing. There was nothing in the throne speech for them.

People are willing to contribute. You know, my friend from Surrey–White Rock and I, in one of my first exchanges in this Legislature, talked about social capital.

He has given his social capital and the social capital of hundreds of people to his community in what he has done. He is a hero in life, and there is nothing for him, and we need to change that.

That's why in this session of the Legislature, even though it is absent in substance if not in words from the throne speech, we are going to be raising issues around the community living sector. We believe that change is required now — not in 2013; now. And this opposition will be fighting for that change.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

I think we have to address the ongoing concerns — concerns that we raised in the spring at a time when the government was laying off sheriffs and taking no action on the fact that we have 16 fewer judges than we did when I became a member of the Legislature.

In this year we've seen a dramatic increase in stays of proceedings — an 80 percent increase in the rates of stays of proceedings, according to the government itself. We saw cases lost, criminal cases lost — adult and youth and juvenile criminal cases lost — this year, dozens of them, because people have a right to a speedy trial and the government was not able to deliver that in criminal cases.

You know, we need some seriousness around this question. These are serious issues that require a serious solution. And what do we get from the government? What did we get? It was not a problem in the spring. You heard it. It was not a problem. It was not a priority for them.

Beginning of June they laid off 29 sheriffs. That's what they did. They laid them off, and they made our problems in the court systems worse, in the criminal system and in the civil system. They made those problems worse.

Then the Stanley Cup riots happened, and the Premier declared herself sheriff for a day, and things supposedly changed. Now we get televised trials. But you know what? I've worked with victims of crime for years, as have many of the people in this Legislature. These problems have existed for a long time. Victims need justice every day — not just when the Premier is on TV and makes statements, but every day.

This is not a serious approach to the problem. It is an admission of failure on the part of the government, and all they care about is the Premier's reputation. That's what they care about, but there are bigger problems than that.

We need a serious response to the lack of resources in our criminal justice system, and we need a serious response now, as the federal government is about to download an avalanche of costs on that system.

[1150]

They are downloading an avalanche of costs, and this government is talking about televised trials. That's its priority? Where are they talking in Ottawa about those costs? Where are they? They're nowhere to be found. They're not engaged in that debate.

You know, I understand. I understand the desire of the government, when it has nothing to offer, to get on TV on what they would call niche issues. I believe that people who committed property crimes during the Stanley Cup riots should be punished, but I believe people who commit crimes every day should be punished — not just on one day but every day in British Columbia.

Ultimately, we have a government that has given up hope in the future. I mean, one of the things we've always had in British Columbia, since 1871, is a criminal justice system in our province. It has worked more or less well over time, and it has always been a part of what government has done — until this government let us down.

I talked at the UBCM, when I spoke there, about my dad. He is retiring in a week. He's 81. He started working at the age of 15. He came to this country in the 1950s. My mom, who is 77, worked for 57 years, and she's retiring, as well as my dad. They are small business people in Vancouver. Every year they change. One year he's the president; the next year she's the president.

It is an extraordinary thing what they've done for us. My dad didn't get to go to university, although I think he would have been good at it, and I did. That is an extraordinary thing. It's a moving thing. And in a sense, they are representative of a whole generation that did that, that built a community college system, that built a public health care system, that built the society that we have today. It's an amazing thing. It's an extraordinary thing.

We should not be the first generation…. Every generation in British Columbia has made those sacrifices, and the next, succeeding generations, even though our
[ Page 7928 ]
economy has gone up and down, have always done better, not worse, in British Columbia. This government has decided that at the high marginal levels, they should cut taxes for the generation like me that benefitted from what my dad and mom contributed. Their whole generation contributed to our society.

We decided that this is the time to cut our own taxes and raise tuition fees and make it harder for young people. We've decided that this is the time to cut our own taxes and raise residential care fees on the generation that did so much for us. At a personal level, it's an extraordinary thing.

You know, I went to UBC in the 1980s, and I didn't pay any tuition fees. It was about $800. I got $1,000 every year in scholarship. No money ever transferred from me to the university. I got a great university…. It has allowed me to fulfil my dreams in life — that education and what has come of it.

I have type 1 diabetes. The public health care system that my parents' generation built has made my life demonstrably better. I was diagnosed. That day I was in hospital — I didn't pay a cent for that. I've never been denied access to another job because health care isn't portable, because we have a single-payer system in Canada that my parents' generation built.

But you know, we should be the generation that says that in this time for us, this time of challenge for us, our goal should be to build a better society for the next generation, to allow the next generation to fulfil its dreams, to have access to training and to have access to the skills they need. The pessimism that this government exudes is not felt in our communities.

Now, I have a school — Carleton Elementary School in our community — that has had a tough go the last seven years. In March 2005 the Minister of Education came to Carleton. Oh, it was a big day. The school is beautiful. People know that. It's at Kingsway and Joyce in Vancouver. It's a beautiful school. They treated it like a movie set that day. They said that we're going to start here at Carleton. We're going to have a seismic upgrade program across the province.

Well, the cameras went away, and the minister went away, and the civil servants went away, and nothing ever happened. In 2008 the outbuilding, the original schoolhouse at Carleton that was built in 1896 and housed students continuously until March 2, 2008 — the roof was burned and damaged. The government initially said: "Of course we'll pay for that." And then they said they wouldn't.

[1155]

Then in 2010 the school was on the closure list. Now, students at that school love their school. There are 400 of them. This isn't a small school. They love their school, and they didn't take it. They responded. They built something better. They went to the public meetings. They fought for their school. They demanded that their schoolhouse be rebuilt.

Two weeks ago we had a meeting. We had an event at that school with Green Thumb Theatre. It was an extraordinary thing. They're going to use that schoolhouse. They're going to rebuild that schoolhouse. All of us together as a community are going to rebuild that schoolhouse and make it the headquarters for Green Thumb, bringing together the arts and education.

Those children aren't cynical. Those teachers weren't cynical. It was an idea of a teacher named Scott MacDonald. You know, it's all about the teachers for them, but that teacher contributed an enormous amount. That was his vision; that was his dream. The whole community got around it; the business community got around it. But mostly it was children who believed we could do better. The idea of using schools and expanding our schools to the world — they made it happen.

Before the Premier announced her leadership bid, the last time I debated with her on the radio, she wanted to close that school. I wanted to keep it open — and those kids wanted to keep it open — because I knew we were on the right side of history, that students were on the right side of history. They dreamed and hoped and knew something could be better in their neighbourhood, and they did something about it.

What this throne speech shows is that we on the opposition side…. We're on the side of those children, on the side of the future and on the side of hope. That is what we are going to fight for in this session, with concrete ideas — ideas that will bring change to our province — and we are going to work to do everything we can to make sure that the dreams that have been fulfilled in Joyce-Collingwood, the dreams that have been fulfilled at Carleton Elementary School and other schools all across the province — that the next generation can dream big and dream better. That's what we're here for, and that's what this opposition is going to fight for.

A. Dix moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. M. Polak moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon.

The House adjourned at 11:58 a.m.

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