2013 Legislative Session: First Session, 40th 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)

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Afternoon Sitting

Volume 1, Number 6

ISSN 0709-1281 (Print)
ISSN 1499-2175 (Online)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

The House met at 1:33 p.m.

[Madame Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers.

[1335]

Introductions by Members

Michelle Stilwell: I'd like the House to acknowledge today my two special guests: my husband, Mark Stilwell, who supports and encourages me in everything that I do; and straight off a plane from Sydney, Australia, our dear friend Alycia Cantrill, whose first stop is right here in the Legislature. What better way to start a trip to Canada? Please welcome them.

Tributes

SVEIN TUFT

D. Routley: I'd like to celebrate with the House the achievements of another great Canadian and great British Columbian cyclist. Svein Tuft of the Orica GreenEDGE Australian cycling team yesterday won the team time trial of the Tour de France. Svein is a six-time Canadian national time trial champion from '04 to '06, from '08 to '10. He is succeeded in that role by Ryder Hesjedal. He was a road race champion in 2011. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics he was seventh in the individual time trial.

This year he's had a first in the stage 4 individual time trial of the Tour de San Luis, a first in the stage 1 time trial of Tour of Slovenia and just the day before yesterday first in stage 4 of the Tour de France.

It hasn't always been a life of glory for Svein as a cyclist. When he raced for the Symmetrics team in North America, he and Christian Meier, another cyclist, lived in trailers behind the team owner's house and were dubbed the trailer park boys by the cycling world.

Can the House help me congratulate an exceptional British Columbian cyclist, Svein Tuft of Langley.

Introductions by Members

Hon. P. Fassbender: I would like to introduce two special guests of mine in the House today — Brittany Comrie, who is my new constituency assistant, and her brand-new husband of a month, Mark. I want to ask the members to join me in celebrating their marriage and her new role in my constituency.

A. Weaver: I'd like to welcome a number of campaign volunteers, supporters and constituents from Oak Bay–Gordon Head who are here in the audience today, including Diane MacMillan, Maureen Burgess, Evelyn Callan, Terry Dance and Stefan Jonsson.

J. Thornthwaite: I'd like to welcome some visitors from my riding, North Vancouver–Seymour, today: Alyson, Nicole and Spencer Martel; and also the mother and grandmother from Arizona, Donene Potyok.

Very, very welcome to the Legislature, and glad that you could join us.

Introduction and
First Reading of Bills

BILL M201 — FALL FIXED ELECTION
AMENDMENT ACT, 2013

V. Huntington presented a bill intituled Fall Fixed Election Amendment Act, 2013.

V. Huntington: I move that a bill intituled Fall Fixed Election Amendment Act be introduced and read for a first time now.

Motion approved.

V. Huntington: Every four years British Columbia goes into an election without passing the budget for the coming fiscal year. Opposition members are unable to properly scrutinize the budget before heading into an election. There is a temptation on both sides to use the budget for partisan campaign purposes.

There can also be significant changes between the pre-election and post-election budgets, either because the initial numbers weren't credible or because the fiscal climate has changed. The result, and what should be key for this House, is that B.C. voters must go to the polls having an incomplete picture of the state of the provincial finances.

I would like to quote Bob Simpson, the former member for Cariboo North, when he originally introduced this bill as part of our democratic reform agenda. "Spring fixed election dates also mean that every four years government ministries and dependent agencies do not get spending authority until halfway through the fiscal year…. This adds a high and unnecessary degree of uncertainty to the functioning of government…."

The legislation I am reintroducing this session moves B.C.'s fixed election date to October, starting with the 2017 election. Moving the election date will also allow the public accounts to come out in the summer and the first quarterly update to be released in September, a far more constructive approach to dealing with the province's business.

I do understand that this summer sitting, perhaps in-
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evitably, is focused on passing the budget, but it is my sincere hope that both the government and the opposition will support this necessary reform during the coming fall session.

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Restoring confidence in the provincial budgeting process is work this assembly should undertake with professional enthusiasm. Indeed, it falls among the most important work we can accomplish.

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

Bill M201, Fall Fixed Election Amendment Act, 2013, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Statements
(Standing Order 25B)

SUMMIT FOR TUSKEGEE AIRMEN
AND CHINESE-CANADIAN VETERANS

J. Yap: Last weekend I had the opportunity, along with the member for Burnaby North, to attend events as part of a historic summit of two groups of World War II veterans that faced discrimination, the Tuskegee Airmen and Chinese-Canadian soldiers. These veterans met to share their stories with the public on how they overcame racial prejudice to serve their countries with courage and distinction.

During World War II the Tuskegee Airmen were the first group of African-American aviators to fly in combat for the U.S. armed forces. This was during the time when the American military was racially segregated. Meanwhile, here in Canada, men and women of Chinese descent who were born in Canada were not allowed to vote, were not allowed to enter professions such as engineering, law and medicine. The 1923 exclusion act that essentially banned Chinese immigration to Canada was still in effect.

These American and Canadian veterans experienced discrimination during the war, even though they performed exceptionally well as fighting units. This meaningful summit was made possible by the Chinese Canadian Military Museum Society.

The society works to preserve, document and celebrate the role of Chinese-Canadian veterans in the service of Canada's military. In conjunction with operating a museum in Vancouver's Chinatown, the society is involved in several projects capturing the stories of veterans and educating new generations of Canadians about the sacrifices of these patriotic men and women.

I'd like to acknowledge some of the people and organizations that made this summit possible: the consul general of the United States, the city of Vancouver, summit organizers Don Chapman and Alfred Woo, museum president King Wan, museum president emeritus Howe Lee and Col. George Ing.

I encourage all members of this House to learn more about this chapter of our nation's history and also to support and visit the Chinese Canadian Military Museum in Vancouver.

CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE
ASTRONOMY INTERPRETIVE CENTRE

L. Popham: Many MLAs believe their constituency is the centre of the universe — fair enough; that's how I feel about Saanich South — but we can't all be right. In fact, the Centre of the Universe is in Saanich South. This is the name of a very popular and valuable education centre on West Saanich Road. It's located next to the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, a national historical site, and the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, a world-class research centre.

Last year the centre attracted approximately 10,000 people, including many tourists. There are guided tours, multimedia shows, interpretive exhibits and the rare opportunity to see the galaxy with a powerful telescope.

But the centre is more than an economic asset in our tourist infrastructure. Thousands of school children have visited on field trips, participated in youth programming or summer camps. This centre is very important to many parents like myself, because we've seen how it inspires young people to think about big questions. It generates interest in astronomy and inspires them to pursue education and work in all types of science-related fields.

It is my duty to inform this House that the Centre of the Universe is going dark. The federal Conservative government has stated that in eight weeks the centre will be shut down and the observatory will be closed to the public. Are efforts being made to persuade the federal government to reconsider this decision? What is our province planning to do? Will we let the Centre of the Universe go dark without even a whimper?

I call on this House to do two things: one, advocate strongly and publicly for continued federal funding of the centre, and two, engage the public and interested parties to develop creative solutions to keep the centre open. For my part, I will be holding a public rally this summer so the message from Saanich South is heard loud and clear.

THE BRIDGE STUDIOS
AND FILM INDUSTRY IN B.C.

J. Thornthwaite: Last week I was privileged to attend the opening of the seventh sound stage of the Bridge Studios in Burnaby, an extra 18,000-square-foot sound stage and production office — wow. The Bridge Studios was the first dedicated studio facility in Vancouver and
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opened for business in 1987 with the TV series MacGyver and the feature film Stakeout. It now houses Once Upon a Time, Motive and, coming soon, Wonderland.

[1345]

A couple of weeks ago I attended an advanced screening of Man of Steel, which was partially filmed on Mount Seymour. As my constituents know, I'm a strong supporter of the film industry, and I've worked very hard to bring their concerns and issues forward to the minister and my colleagues.

There are many direct and indirect benefits that the film industry brings to our local and provincial economy. In fact, one of my campaign helpers has a family printing business, and their bottom line is definitely improved when Lions Gate Studios has projects in production.

I know the film industry's benefit to the city and the district of North Vancouver. Last session I was fortunate to attend a filming date of Bates Motel at Seycove Secondary in my riding. Both the school district and the school received thousands of dollars from this production and utilized that money for continuing education for their teachers.

I also know that my community has the third-largest number of constituents employed by the film industry in the province. The film industry is a major jobs creator and economic booster here in British Columbia and North Vancouver–Seymour. I look forward to continuing to support this valuable sector in the future.

ROLLER DERBY TEAM IN CRESTON

M. Mungall: It would be a full-on blow to Creston's all-new, first-ever, flat-track women's roller derby team if I did not rise in this House to celebrate their inaugural season as members of the East Kootenay Women's Roller Derby League. That's right. Roller derby's expansion across B.C. has landed in Creston, sporting a name befitting the valley's top fruit crop, the Black Eyed Cherries.

Having started in 2012, the team has finished its year of fresh meat training and is going skate to skate with other teams in the league.

On the track you will find team captain, No. 79, Kerrazy; the team's assistant captain, No. 33, Meter Maid; No. 454, Jake Brake; No. 9, Jetta; No. 13, WheeKyd Whim; No. 24/7, Whiplash Wayling; No. 666, Kytn; No. 57, KarMel Kazi; No. 21, Madhatter; No. 8, Betty Rage; and, currently off due to injury, No. 22, Pamela Slamerson.

I was at their first home bout at the Creston and District Community Complex on May 18 during blossom festival weekend. They blocked, jammed and smashed their way to a good showing for the home crowd. They'll be back on home cement August 10, and it is not a bout to be missed.

We can never forget that the most important thing in roller derby is to always whip it and whip it good.

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Members.

COMMUNITY LIVING ADVOCACY
BY KLAUS LINEMAYR

E. Foster: Thirty years ago Klaus Linemayr and his wife, Doris, met with a doctor the day after their son was born to hear the news that he had Down syndrome. Klaus at the time didn't even know what Down syndrome was. He had to go find out, and he spent the next 30 years as an advocate for people with disabilities.

He joined the board of the Community Living Vernon in 1991 and was a very important board member for over 20 years. For ten years he chaired the board.

Klaus's dedication, his time, his talent and his knowledge went to building Venture Training. Through his leadership, vision and effort, he provided the management and staff with the tools and inspiration to provide a wide variety of residential, employment, social, recreational and educational opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities.

He encouraged many local companies to donate time and effort to renovating buildings for the association. Through his involvement with the school system and Venture Training, Klaus became involved in the provincial fight to make services and programs available to everyone who needed them.

Klaus was dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to have the best lives that they could have. He supported individualized funding as a choice for families. He was a great advocate for individuals and fought for the individualized funding to be available as a choice for all those who wished that option.

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He built, at his own cost, a model for supportive family care. This model could be the way of the future, allowing more persons with disabilities to live in family care semi-independently. This model is presently working very well. In these times, when costs are a big factor, this model could save thousands of dollars and still provide the advantages of family care.

The years have gone by so fast, and Klaus saw many changes in the services provided to adults with disabilities. His remarkable contribution to Venture, his tireless enthusiasm and vision have impacted everyone associated with the development for special needs through the province.

Sadly, last week Klaus lost his battle with cancer. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. The field of community living has lost a dedicated and committed advocate.
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ARTS AND CULTURE EVENTS IN
VANCOUVER–POINT GREY AREA
AND FUTURE OF JERICHO LANDS

D. Eby: Vancouver–Point Grey is a riding made up of enthusiastic community members who build our neighbourhood spirit and culture and make life more fun every day. For example, Greek Day, hosted by the Hellenic Canadian Congress of B.C., welcomed tens of thousands of people to West Broadway last week. This event happens because of our riding's strong Greek community and their commitments to a neighbourhood and the promotion of Greek culture.

The Khatsahlano Music and Arts Festival on July 13 will welcome tens of thousands to West 4th Avenue because local businesses and volunteers have put in countless hours to build this new and exciting tradition from scratch.

Finally, for the residents of Point Grey, summer does not start until the Point Grey Fiesta starts, featuring music, face painting and carnival rides. This year's fiesta was a great success, thanks to the hard work of volunteers based out of the West Point Grey Community Centre and our local Point Grey village businesses.

Trimble Park, where the fiesta takes place every year, appears small on the map beside the much larger neighbouring Jericho lands. But on the ground, for our community, Trimble Park is a seamless extension of the Jericho lands, a park-like setting with mature trees that extends over an approximately 18-block area.

Half of this land is federal, half provincial. My community is deeply concerned that both governments are secretly negotiating to sell this property. My constituents want to contribute to shape the future of the Jericho lands, just like they contribute year after year to build the culture of our community through events and celebrations.

This government can harness that community energy in developing what can be a cornerstone of Point Grey's future by consulting with our community and by placing covenants on the development of this property accordingly.

It is our community's hope that celebrants of the next 30 years of Point Grey Fiestas will look out from Trimble Park at the Jericho lands legacy, a legacy achieved by neighbours, governments and businesses working together to make our community better, just as they do every day in our riding.

Oral Questions

HOSTING OF INDIAN FILM AWARDS EVENT
AND SPENDING PRIORITIES

A. Dix: My question is to the Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour. On April 8 the Premier said, with respect to the TOIFA Awards: "It will air in two weeks. There are going to be 400 million people who watch that show."

Today we learned that the reality doesn't quite live up to the Premier's words, and 29.7 million people watched the awards show in India. That's a 93 percent drop from the Premier's vastly inflated estimates. How does the minister explain the difference between reality and what the Premier said about this show?

Hon. S. Bond: Certainly, to the Leader of the Opposition, this government has been very clear about its intent to build the economy. That includes working internationally — working with China, Japan and India.

We received some numbers this morning directly from the Times of India. In the first showing, in fact, there were 32 million households. In addition to that, there was a simulcast that was done on the Internet, and it's anticipated that about eight million households saw the production.

[1355]

The other aspect was that there was an international production, as well, which reached out to South Asians who didn't live in India. The total viewership there was about 20 million households. So in the first showing of the event we have 60 million households that actually saw British Columbia.

Madame Speaker: Member for Vancouver-Kingsway on a supplemental.

A. Dix: Unbelievably, inexplicably, the Premier spent $11 million of public funds, based on an estimate that 400 million people were going to watch the show.

You know, she wasn't the only one that was wrong. In fairness, the Minister of Finance, always more conservative than the Premier, said — and I'm going to quote him accurately here from the House — that the presence "is conservatively estimated at 200 million to 250 million viewers." If the Premier was dramatically wrong or extraordinarily wrong, the Minister of Finance, his conservative view, was only really, really, really wrong.

We asked in freedom of information if there was any analysis of the economic benefits of the awards show, because Premier Christy Clark also said this could mean billions and billions of dollars and thousands of jobs in British Columbia. What did we get back from our freedom-of-information request? Well, we got a couple of e-mails, a press release and a short backgrounder with four bullet points about the Times of India — oh, and a poster with the Premier's picture on it. Oh good.

Will the government come out and admit now that the basis on which they spent $11 million in public funds was totally inaccurate?

Hon. S. Bond: As I said to the Leader of the Opposition in the first question, this government is not going to be
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apologetic about recognizing that one of the fastest-growing economies in the world is a target of this province. We are going to work as aggressively as we can to attract investment to make sure that people in India and people around the world recognize the benefits of British Columbia.

The numbers that the Leader of the Opposition shared today are after the initial showing of this film in India and around the world. The contract that we agreed to will see that the production actually airs up to another 11 times. So the number is not a final number. In fact, we will continue to see that number grow.

As we stand in this House, this is not a dissimilar reaction from the Leader of the Opposition when this government said it was going to be aggressive about the work it was going to do in China. I am fairly confident that the Leader of the Opposition isn't laughing today about the fact that, when we look at what's happened in China as a result of a strategic plan by this government, we have seen overall exports to China increase by over 500 percent. I don't think that's a laughing matter.

Madame Speaker: Vancouver-Kingsway on a supplemental.

A. Dix: Well, now we know what the government means by "aggressive." They mean acting without any business plan, any plan at all. They mean using public funds to fund the Liberal Party's election campaign. They mean putting out totally fictitious numbers about possible viewers, before an election, that have been proven to be false and then not acknowledging in this House that they did so. No wonder they don't blush at the $342 million overrun on the northwest transmission line.

If there is a business plan for this initiative, can we see it? The government is cutting mental health programs that could be funded for 30 years with the amount they spent on this partisan extravaganza.

Interjections.

A. Dix: Oh, hon. Speaker….

[1400]

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Members.

A. Dix: Hon. Speaker, I say to the Minister of Finance that Moe Sihota comes to a lot of my events, too, but I'm not asking for 11 million bucks. I mean, here's their defence: "The bad news is we were totally wrong. We wasted 11 million bucks. But the Minister of Finance says Moe Sihota was there." I am so impressed, hon. Speaker. I'm so impressed.

This would have paid for a lot of services. We know — everybody in this, everyone…. Also with the convention centre…. So would the northwest transmission line.

The real question is: isn't there a better way to spend $11 million than this? Don't the people who are losing their funding at Lookout at New Westminster, people who are suffering from mental illness in Vancouver, deserve a better answer than that?

"With this expenditure of $11 million, then, we were trying to be aggressive, and we were completely wrong. Just accept it." Isn't there a better way to spend $11 million of public funds?

Hon. S. Bond: Well, as I explained to the Leader of the Opposition the first two times, in fact, what we believe on this side of the House is that British Columbians do deserve improved services, where we have a long list of things that British Columbians want to us do. But what we understand and believe in is that you don't do that by raising taxes and expecting taxpayers to pay for everything that's important in British Columbia.

What we need to do is reach out to countries around this world. Look at British Columbia's competitive advantage, low taxes, jobs. We have a skilled labour force. And reaching out to India is a critical component of economic development. We're going to look for investment to come to British Columbia.

In fact, if you look at the exposure that the awards provided, if you look at what it would have cost to purchase the kinds of exposure that we received in India — front-page newspaper articles, millions of households learning about British Columbia — that would have far exceeded the amount that was invested by the province of British Columbia.

H. Bains: It's quite clear from everything that we have seen that this government misled the people of British Columbia when it comes to its made-to-order Bollywood awards show, with $11 million spent and very little to show for it. Meanwhile, in Surrey 7,000 students are still in portables — 7,000. The $11 million could have gone a long way to help alleviate the pressing need for more schools in Surrey.

Now, can the minister explain to the parents in Surrey why their children must wait in portables and not have the real classrooms because your government spent $11 million on this made-to-order show for two days?

Hon. S. Bond: I can assure the member opposite that the last group of people we're going to take fiscal advice from is a group that, the last time they were in government in British Columbia, drove this province from have status to have-not status. And that is shameful.

This is a government that currently has a triple-A credit rating. We've kept taxes low. In fact, we've managed to provide the highest level of funding to the education system that this province has ever seen.
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You see, we have a fundamental difference. We actually believe you've got to build a strong economy so that you can provide for those services, instead of simply relying on raising taxes and penalizing British Columbians, which is the policy of the other side of the House.

[1405]

Madame Speaker: The member for Surrey-Newton on a supplemental.

H. Bains: Talk about being a have-not province. Four times in the last ten years, under your watch, a have-not province, the province of British Columbia. Four times. Four times, have-not. If they looked at Statistics Canada, they'll know what the reality is in the difference between the 1990s and the last ten years. They'll find out the reality and the truth about it.

The Premier claimed 400 million people would watch it when only less than 30 million people watched it. They said billions and billions of benefit, yet there is no analysis on economic benefits, just like the myth of debt-free B.C. versus debt-spree B.C. that we have seen here right now after the election.

Now British Columbians are paying as a result of this. Madame Speaker, 7,000 kids are still in portables in Surrey, and vulnerable seniors are forced to pay a $300 wheelchair tax for Christy Clark's tax, with massive cuts to vital services to come.

The question to the minister again: when will the minister admit that it misled British Columbians on the Bollywood awards show, just as it misled British Columbians on the budget, on debt and on jobs?

Hon. S. Bond: The member opposite might want to ignore the fact that when the awards were hosted in British Columbia, there were 6,000 direct and indirect employees hired in British Columbia to actually stage those events. In addition to that, 3,000 hotel room nights booked by the Times Group ensured that we saw an economic benefit.

We have said this more than once. The numbers for the first showing are in. There will continue to be exposure from these awards.

We are going to differentiate ourselves day after day from the members opposite, because we say yes to economic development. We say yes to looking at markets around the world. You simply have to look at our success in China to see that we've had a plan. We have a strategy, and reaching out to India is a key part of that economic strategy.

PORT MANN BRIDGE TOLLS AND
TEMPORARY CLOSING OF PATTULLO BRIDGE

G. Heyman: When the Liberals announced a new tolled Port Mann Bridge, the government's pitch to users was the promise that there would always be a toll-free alternative, specifically the Pattullo Bridge.

Yesterday TransLink made an announcement that the Pattullo is scheduled to be closed for maintenance for three weekends this summer: July 20 and 21, August 10 and 11, and August 24 and 25. People needing to cross the Fraser River are really left with only one option, and that's paying to cross the Port Mann.

My question for the Minister of Transportation is quite simple, quite straightforward. Will the Transportation Minister live up to his government's promise of a free option by suspending tolls on the Port Mann during the period of time the Pattullo is closed for maintenance?

Hon. T. Stone: I thank the member opposite for the question. Perhaps the member opposite could advise this House what he actually believes the Alex Fraser Bridge is. The Alex Fraser Bridge is an alternative. The Massey Tunnel is an alternative.

When it comes to the Pattullo Bridge, Members, this ministry will support TransLink, we will support Surrey, and we will support New Westminster in consulting with the public on options to replace or rehabilitate the Pattullo Bridge.

[1410]

Madame Speaker: Vancouver-Fairview on a supplemental.

G. Heyman: I'd like to thank the minister for showing British Columbians, yet once again, exactly what a Liberal promise is worth: absolutely nothing.

Let me remind the minister and the members opposite exactly what the Liberal policy laid out: "The public has a right to a basic level of toll-free access. Therefore, tolls will be implemented only if a reasonable untolled alternative is available."

No referendum, just that one clear promise. The reality is that if people need to cross the river for those three weekends, they either have to pay tolls or drive many miles out of their way. Or, I suppose, they could swim. This is the result of a government that does one-offs on transportation instead of doing any long-term, integrated regional planning.

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Excuse me, Member.

Members, I need to hear the question.

G. Heyman: My question, once again, is…. I would like to give the Transportation Minister one more chance to do the right thing to keep the government's promise to British Columbians by suspending tolls on the Port Mann for the period of Pattullo closures.
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Hon. T. Stone: Thanks to the member opposite for the question. Let's talk for a moment about the Pacific gateway program, shall we? Let's talk about that for a moment. These projects….

Every facet of the Pacific gateway program is about opening up our markets. It's about opening up the markets. It's about how we compete. It's about how we grow the economy. It's about how we create jobs. What the members opposite clearly don't understand is that you have to make investments in critical transportation and infrastructure in order to power the economy. We have been doing that on this side of the House, and we will continue to do that on this side of the House.

Let's talk about the Port Mann Bridge. Let's talk about the fact that we are saving commuters 50 percent of their commute. Let's talk about the 8,000 construction jobs that the Port Mann project has created. Let's talk about the fact that we now have transit across the Port Mann Bridge for the first time in 25 years.

Now, I come from the Interior. I come from Kamloops, and this is where most of the wealth of this province comes from — the Interior. We need roads. We need bridges. We need critical infrastructure. This government is going to continue to build that infrastructure.

S. Hammell: Let's talk about broken promises. The Liberal government, before the election, promised the people of Surrey a free option to the tolled Port Mann Bridge. Unequivocally, they said that, again and again. Closing the Pattullo Bridge without suspending the tolls on the Port Mann Bridge breaks that promise. Why is a promise made before an election not worth keeping after an election?

Hon. T. Stone: Well, now we're having some fun.

The members opposite voted against the Canada Line. The members opposite were opposed to the Port Mann project. The members opposite voted against the Cariboo connector. They voted against improvements to the Trans-Canada Highway. They voted against the improvements on the Malahat.

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I think British Columbians would like to know what exactly you do stand for. You're against transmission lines. You're against the hydro projects. You're against roads. You're against bridges. What exactly do the members opposite stand for?

RIVERVIEW HOSPITAL LANDS
AND SALE OF GOVERNMENT ASSETS

S. Robinson: When the Liberals announced their plans to sell off public assets to continue the fantasy that their budget is balanced, many people in Coquitlam worried that the Riverview lands would be part of that. Now months later and with the Liberals still refusing to list all the assets that are part of the fire sale, there's still no more clarity on the Riverview lands.

These lands have a long history of providing needed health services to the region and to the province, and they include valuable green space and heritage trees. Can the Finance Minister give some assurance that these important lands aren't being parcelled off and sold to maintain the Liberal illusion of a balanced budget?

Hon. R. Coleman: We're well aware of the value and the concerns in Coquitlam relative to the Riverview lands. That's why we're involved in consultation with regard to the future of those properties. It is not on the list, if you look at the list of assets for disposal.

Just take a look, hon. Member. You'll see it's not there. It's not part of the budget process, and it's not part of an asset disposal. But it is an important piece for looking at future health care issues. There are things that are relative to mental health and addictions with this government, and with homelessness, it's been more successful than any government in history in North America.

Madame Speaker: Member for Coquitlam-Maillardville on a supplemental.

S. Robinson: This is a unique facility — one that people in Coquitlam are proud of — but the Liberals really are refusing to look at it. Buildings on Canada's most endangered heritage buildings list are falling into disrepair on this site. The government committed to maintaining the grounds, but basic landscaping hasn't even been done. Even the grass isn't being mowed. What the Liberal government is doing is demolition by neglect. It's as if they're making it look abandoned so Coquitlam residents won't mind if it gets sold off.

Will the minister commit to looking after this important site, and will this government commit to keeping this valuable public asset in public hands?

Hon. R. Coleman: Anybody that has been around this file will know there've been discussions with Coquitlam and the First Nations and other groups in and around the Riverview lands. They will also know that there has been a transition of particular uses of the land off the site, as we take people with mental health and addictions issues and move them back closer to their communities so they could have better outcomes and success.

We see this as a long-term asset for British Columbia — for health care, mental health, addictions and other opportunities to help people in B.C. — just like we do with Housing Matters B.C., which today has actually seen 6,000 people in the last five years no longer homeless in the province of British Columbia, because of the investments we made.

We will continue to make sure the assets of British Columbia are there for our citizens in need, and the
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Riverview lands are part of that long-term process.

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER
SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM

M. Mungall: The community volunteer supplement provides people with disabilities who volunteer with $100 a month to help cover associated costs such as food, clothing and transit. Thousands of people have participated in this successful program, and hundreds more want to.

But in August 2011 the government quietly denied any new applications, saying that a new program was on its way. Almost two years later they have not delivered on a new program. Can the minister responsible explain why they are punishing people with disabilities who want to be involved with their community?

Hon. D. McRae: The people we serve in this ministry…. We strive to do so with respect, with dignity and with fairness.

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The individuals in October of 2011 who were put on the wait-list are being served. This province and this government make sure we provide supplements to people who are disadvantaged in our society to make sure they have a great quality of life.

One issue, just an example, because I think it's really important that we talk about this one. The B.C. bus pass — 80,000 people get an annual bus pass for $45 a year. This allows individuals to have access to a great range of opportunities. Why? We create programs to help those who need it. It's an issue that this province wants to deal with and this government deals with, and we are proud of our record.

Madame Speaker: Member for Nelson-Creston on a supplemental.

M. Mungall: It's unfortunate that the minister has completely and utterly missed the point here. An awards show received $11 million. The Premier's deputy chief of staff gets a $30,000 pay hike. But the important thing here is that while the government seems to have endless pots of money out of nowhere for their pet projects, they don't have $100 a month for people with disabilities who only want to contribute to their community. A program like the community volunteer supplement should be expanded, not frozen. So why is this government continuing to treat people with disabilities with such callousness?

Hon. D. McRae: You know, Madame Speaker, as everybody in this House knows, we just had an election. Like all of us, we knocked on doors, and the one thing I heard in regards to this government and some of the things we've done to make their lives better is to allow persons with disabilities to earn up to $800 a month. This is an opportunity. I heard that at the doorstep multiple times. I heard it, because they want to work.

One of the things I'm really proud of as a member of this government…. And it was brought forward by the Minister of Jobs earlier. We believe, in this government, about growing the economy of British Columbia. We're not growing it just for one sector of our society. We're growing it for all individuals in British Columbia.

Persons with disabilities…. I look forward to working with employers, the sector, to make sure that they can basically engage in the workforce better than ever going forward. Why? They can bring some great job skills to employers in British Columbia. I've seen it as a high school teacher. They are incredibly passionate people. I'm looking forward to watching those individuals enter the workforce and be great citizens for the province of British Columbia.

NORTHWEST TRANSMISSION LINE
PROJECT AND LOCAL WORKERS

R. Austin: People in the communities that I represent were looking forward to getting good-paying jobs working on the northwest transmission line, which is why it's so disappointing that the minister didn't even attempt to explain the excuse from B.C. Hydro for the $342 million overrun. They said: "We've had to bring in people and equipment from all over." Given the fact that the northwest Nechako region has had the highest unemployment in the province for the last decade, why were workers imported to the region for this project?

And just in case the minister is about to rise and suggest that I haven't been supporting this project, I would point this out to him: Maybe his Google button is broken. If he wants to google my name and northwest transmission line, he'll find a B.C. Hydro presentation that specifically lists me under their northwest community support.

Hon. B. Bennett: Thanks to the member for the question. I'd say back to the member: welcome aboard. I'm really glad that you support the project.

Clearly, there is some difference of opinion on the other side of the House as to whether they….

Interjections.

Hon. B. Bennett: I have quotes from the Energy critic where he clearly states he doesn't support the project, but I am, nonetheless, happy to hear that the member does support the project.

Interesting — the mining association has just said a while ago that the northwest transmission line has the potential to attract more than $15 billion in mining investment alone, just on the mining side, creating up to 10,000 jobs and generating $300 million in annual tax
[ Page 91 ]
revenues. That's the Mining Association of B.C. which said that.

But perhaps more germane…

[1425]

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Members.

Hon. B. Bennett: …to the member who asked the question, yesterday in the Vancouver Sun the mayor of the member's home town, Dave Pernarowski, said that there was bustle back into the communities in the northwest. He said that — this is a quote by this member's mayor — "there's an air of optimism again." More cars on the road, more optimism. People are looking forward to the northwest transmission line creating thousands of jobs in the northwest.

[End of question period.]

Reports from Committees

Hon. M. de Jong: I have the honour to present the first report of the Special Committee of Selection for the first session of the 40th parliament.

I move that the report be taken as read and received.

Motion approved.

Hon. M. de Jong: I ask leave of the House to move a motion to adopt the report.

Leave granted.

Hon. M. de Jong: I move that this report, which assigns committee responsibilities for members of the assembly, be adopted.

Motion approved.

Points of Order
(Speaker's Ruling)

Madame Speaker: Hon. Members, on Thursday last, June 27, 2013, the Opposition House Leader rose on two points of order respecting the activities of guests seated within the chamber during the afternoon sitting of the House.

The Chair briefly addressed the initial concern of the Opposition House Leader as to whether or not such guests could pass notes to a member of the executive council. The Chair's response was to the effect that guests could not participate in or disrupt proceedings in any way but could communicate with members in verbal or written form, although the practice was to be discouraged.

This response was brief, due to the circumstances of the time. A more fulsome response is warranted.

The Chair is of the view that the House as a whole and the members thereof individually have the right to carry out their duties unimpeded and without interference and distraction. Both verbal or written communication could very well have the effect of interfering with the business of the House and its members.

I would point out, however, that written communications, by way of notes, have been long accepted as a normal practice in this place. Notes are often provided to members of the executive council by other members, including members of cabinet, staff of the various departments of government, House staff, guests and, yes, even the Chair. This method of communication is certainly less intrusive and distracting than verbal communication.

The view of the Chair is that verbal communication by guests ought not to be engaged in at all while the House is actively conducting its business.

The second point of order as raised by the Opposition House Leader was to the effect that guests ought not participate in any way in supporting members of the House through applause or otherwise. Guests are not entitled to display approval or disapproval with respect to anything that transpires during the sitting of the House.

Thank you, Members, for your attention.

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. de Jong: I call continued debate on the budget.

[1430]

Budget Debate

(continued)

S. Simpson: It's a pleasure to join the debate on the budget. I've had the opportunity to do this a number of times since first being elected in 2005, and it's always an interesting debate around budget matters.

I'd like to start, really, with a few thank-yous. I think all the members here all owe some debt of gratitude to the people that helped get us here in the recent election. I certainly want to thank the people who worked on my campaign — the members of my constituency association; the many, many volunteers who came and participated; and people from my community — to help me to return for my third term here in this place.

Obviously, it's a huge honour to be back here and to have received the confidence on three occasions of the people of Vancouver-Hastings. It's a huge honour to have the opportunity to be back and to represent those many people in my constituency who really do need the support and who have many, many issues that are in front of them, where they're looking for this government to
[ Page 92 ]
take action that will make their lives just a little bit easier, to deal with just a few of those challenges that they face every day. It is a privilege for me to be here and be able to be part of that process of making that case on their behalf.

I want to, obviously, thank my family for being supportive over all these years of my time here. As we all know, it's challenging for families, for members. We all owe gratitude to the members of our family and our loved ones who tolerate what we put them through by being members of this place and by carrying out our responsibilities and our duties.

[D. Horne in the chair.]

In regard to the budget itself, I have some clear objectives, sort of, for what I would like to see happen as we move forward here. They're objectives that I've embraced for a significant period of time in terms of what I think we need to achieve here.

We need a dynamic economy, an economy that's built on the creation of jobs, an economy that really is driven by jobs. That's an important consideration. That's something that we need to attempt to achieve.

We need to pursue increased equality in our province. We have dramatic levels of inequality in this province. We have dramatic challenges in this province that we need to overcome. We have poverty levels that are unacceptably high — poverty levels that have continued, year after year after year of this government, to be unacceptably high, particularly as it relates to children. We need a poverty reduction strategy that addresses that. We have not seen that strategy here.

We also need to be able to address just those challenges of equality for working families, who see increasing pressures on them to be able to make things work, to be able to make their own financial situation work. We simply aren't seeing that here, but that has to be an objective.

The third piece that clearly has to be an objective for us is the sustainability of all of the initiatives here. We know, of course, that as we move forward this economy, the reality is that we are going to be continuing, as a resource-based economy, to be exploiting those resources, sending those resources out, doing that work.

But we need, clearly, to have a plan that is sustainable and a plan that takes us down the road over the next years and maybe decades and leads us towards a different kind of economy — a green economy, an economy that is less dependent on fossil fuels, more dependent on renewables. We need to get there. We need to be able to show that we're making real progress in that direction to satisfy the expectations of the people in this province.

We, at this point, don't have that strategy from the government. For all the buzz, for all the rhetoric, we don't see that strategy in the government. We need to do that.

[1435]

The other thing that is a reality here is that we do need to manage costs. We know the fiscal pressures that are on governments. We know what the fallout is of 2008 and the international situation that occurred then. We know the situation that provinces face now. We know that we need to address those matters of managing costs.

So in response to that and this government…. The government, to its credit, ran an election around jobs and around debt management and a number of things — all things that are good issues. The question is: how well have they really done on accomplishing those things?

What we have as a reflection of that is we have the current budget, this budget which is essentially, I think — as was pointed out by the Finance Minister — the reintroduction of the February budget. It has been put forward. So let's look at how well the government has done in dealing with some of the real challenges that we have faced in this economy.

First of all, we've seen the economy tighten up. The economy has continued to slow. We continue to have challenges. We've seen GDP growth go down from 1.6 to 1.4 percent over the period from February to June. We've seen employment growth drop from about 1.1 to 0.7 percent over the same time. Retail sales have been cut in half, from about a 3½ percent growth rate to about 1.8 percent, and we've seen a drop in housing starts as well.

All of those pressures, of course, have led to the Finance Minister making some adjustments to this budget, adjustments that will lay out a claim for the core review to find $130 million of cuts over the next period of time. We don't know what that really means, but that's the claim. We'll talk about that a little bit in a minute.

We've also seen a tightening in terms of what the surplus claimed by the government is — that it's going to be smaller. We'll talk about that in a minute and as to whether that surplus is real.

But what we have here in this budget…. The foundation of the budget, the foundation of many of the claims the government has made to deal with the budget, is that there is a plan here on the part of the government. The government has based this on a couple of key initiatives.

One is on a jobs plan. That's been a foundation of the Premier and a foundation of this government as they've tried to move forward. Yet we know, when you look at Statistics Canada, that the government of British Columbia has failed, probably more miserably than any other government in the country, on private sector job creation — failed more miserably.

Here in British Columbia we have seen the loss, between September 2011 and May of 2013 — the period of time, generally, that the Premier has been in office — of 31,000 jobs in the private sector in this province. When we compare that to the provinces that we tend to compare ourselves to the most — Alberta and Ontario tend to be the provinces that we compare ourselves to — in that same period of time we saw an increase of almost 54,000 jobs in Alberta in the private sector and 106,000
[ Page 93 ]
jobs in Ontario — private sector jobs.

So we've seen a dramatic difference in how the provinces have responded around job creation. This is very troubling, especially for a government that claims a jobs plan, claims that that plan has some modicum of success when we're seeing tens of thousands of jobs disappearing in our economy.

As a result of that, it probably should come as no surprise to British Columbians that, in fact, we're seeing an out-migration of people in British Columbia. Since 2011, since the Premier took office, over 10,000 more people have left British Columbia than have come to this province, and they've left British Columbia because they have lost hope. That's a reality. They have lost hope. You can probably follow that back and track that back to tens of thousands of jobs disappearing. Many of those people, their families, were hoping that they would, in fact, be able to stay here and work.

[1440]

So we have this issue around the jobs plan — serious questions — since we have, it appears, the only jobs plan in the country that bleeds jobs more quickly than it creates them.

The other claim, of course, that the Premier has made, in particular, is the debt-free claim. I'll give credit to the governing side. This was a pretty effective argument — not based on any facts or evidence or reality, but a pretty effective argument during the recent election campaign. However, the problem we have is that when the Premier took office we had provincial debt of just over $45 billion. By 2016, based on the B.C. budget numbers, we will have a provincial debt of about $70 billion. That's a $25 billion increase in our debt in five years.

Now, however you might want to square that circle, it is simply unbelievable that a government and a Premier, who day in and day out espoused some notion of responsibility on debt, are increasing this debt at record levels that we have never seen in the history of this province. We have the most fiscally irresponsible conduct, based on this budget, that we have ever seen in this province and a Premier who clearly is out of control in terms of controlling our debt. That's a reality.

We have a debt problem. We have jobs disappearing. We have debt escalating. So what are we getting right here? Well, we have a government that claims a balanced budget. Now, we know, of course, that over the period of time that the government has been in power, 2001 to 2012 — 11, 12 years, whatever that period of time is there — seven deficit budgets. More than half the budgets that the Liberals have introduced have been in deficit. That's a reality: deficit budgets.

We have a government here that…. In fact, since Premier Clark has been in office, deficit targets have been missed by an accumulative amount of about $1 billion dollars. That's what the Premier has missed her targets by. We have a balanced-budget law. It gets broken pretty much on a regular occurrence, so much so that the pundits and others kind of make fun of and jest about the balanced-budget law — that it gets broken so often.

Now we have Budget 2013. Budget 2013 is apparently about a balance. But what's the reality of that balance? The reality is you have a sale of assets that is the foundation of this balanced budget — a sale of assets that is going to be critical to be able to make this happen, the government claiming that they will sell, if all is said and done, somewhere in excess of $600 million of assets.

Now, the thing to understand is that governments buy and sell assets all the time. There's nothing new, nothing special about that. But in the ten-year period, the first ten years of this government, just under $400 million of assets were moved by this government. Fair enough. Now, somewhere in between 2013 and 2015, in order to make the budgets work, the government has to move in excess of $600 million of assets. So over a decade, less than $400 million; in a couple of years we've got to move over $600 million of assets.

First of all, it makes you wonder whether it actually makes any sense in terms of responsible governance to be unloading assets in that way. Second is whether you can really get value for money if, in fact, your objective is to have a fire sale to try to deal with these shortfalls in the budget to get to a balanced budget, because the Premier has told us she's going to balance four budgets in a row. We'll see.

We also know that there have been significant reductions in terms of spending projections. Before the February budget, in the previous budget to that, what we saw…. And for people who are watching, of course, governments project out three years of spending in a budget.

[1445]

In the budget prior to February, the projections were for growth of over 3 percent in health care, as an example. We were going to have growth of over 3 percent, and that was growth that reflected population, demographics and inflation — basically covering costs.

We now see a growth projection that is significantly less than that, projected to be…. The value of the differential is almost a quarter billion dollars, about $230 million less in terms of projected spending in health care because of this reduced growth. Yet the government tells us this can all be done without an impact on services.

The question clearly becomes — and maybe we'll find this out in estimates; I guess we'll see — where does the $230 million come from? What was going to be spent a year ago in projections — that we're going to absorb that $230 million from — that won't be spent now? What are those items? What is that going to be? Are there revenue streams to make that up? Is that what the wheelchair tax is all about? I don't know, but I guess we're going to get a chance to find that out.

We also know that in some areas…. We've heard about forest health. We've heard about reductions in spending
[ Page 94 ]
in forest health. It's a significant issue. The forest industry continues to be a critical part of our resource base, but we need to deal with forest health. We're not seeing it. We're seeing a reduction in spending there.

We're seeing a cut in post-secondary — a real cut in post-secondary — at a time when everybody is acknowledging skills and skills training as one of the critical competitive edges that we need to embrace and that we need to advance. It just makes no sense to reduce that spending in that area when you know that's a place where you need to invest. But that's the reality that we see in terms of this investment.

So we have funding for services going down over what was projected just a year ago — funding for services being reduced. What we require now is an explanation of how that will impact those services, but there has been no explanation at all. Maybe we'll get that in estimates. I guess we'll see.

We have an asset fire sale that is unprecedented. I guess the first question is: could you even sell all those assets for a reasonable price? The second issue is: is it really responsible financial management to use asset sales to try to balance your budget? Is that really responsible financial management? You know, do you sell your furniture to pay your mortgage? Maybe in this case you do. But we'll see.

Then we have a government that claims it is going to be debt-free sometime in the future that is going to have set record levels of increases in debt by the time we get to 2016 — record levels. So $25 billion is going to be this Premier's claim to fame for her first five years in office, that she drove up debt by $25 billion in five years. That will be her biggest claim to fame.

Now, the other thing that the government has said it will deal with here is finding this $130 million through the core review. There's a minister who has been appointed to deal with the core review, yet we have no commitment on transparency as to what this review is going to look like. The minister has yet to tell us that he, in fact, will release the information about what the plan is. It's supposed to go to priorities and planning of cabinet, I believe, by the end of August. What's that plan going to look like? How are those decisions going to be made?

What is the role that this review is going to play? We've asked: is this going to review services? We can know that the Minister Responsible for Core Review has previously been critical of the fact that reductions in support in the resource industries have meant that permitting hasn't happened fast enough to be able to meet the needs of the industry when they're moving forward on resource business.

[1450]

We know that the Representative for Children and Youth has expressed serious concerns about the current levels of support for children and families. But there's no reason to believe this review will look and say: "We in fact can't meet our objectives, and new resources are required there to deal with that."

Of course, we know that there are other initiatives that are moving forward where we should be looking at whether they receive the levels of support to deliver the levels of desired programs or desired services that we have. But we see none of that. We are simply going to see cuts.

The core review isn't about quality of services. It's just about cuts. We'll have to talk to the minister over the next period of time, in estimates, to see what those plans are and to see, in fact, how broad this review will be. Will it review all of the communications staff that work for government? There are hundreds — about 350 if you tally everybody in. Are they going to be looked at? I guess we'll find out.

The problem, though, is this. You have a budget that is simply unbelievable. This budget is not balanced. It will not be balanced next year when we come to the end of the year. There's no doubt in my mind about that. This budget will not be balanced, but a lot of people will be hurt along the way in the effort to find that balance. A lot of people are going to be hurt.

I can't think of anything more irresponsible than a government that's attempting to balance a budget that they simply don't have the capacity to do, but they're willing to let a lot of people fall by the wayside in the meantime in this effort. It's unfortunate that the government has done this.

It's unfortunate that this is a government that seems to be prepared to govern on ideology and to have ideology be the foundation of decisions. Certainly, ideology is the foundation of this Premier's decision-making, and she, presumably, will be calling the shots. If there's one thing we know, ideological decisions are never the best decisions. Sadly, the people of this province are facing four years of a pretty ideological government.

We'll obviously be voting against the budget. We'll be looking to get more information in the estimates process. We'll see how successful that is. At the end of the day, come next year when public accounts…. When there's a settling of the accounts of this budget, I am sure the people of British Columbia are still going to see a deficit, and they're going to see a lot of people who got hurt along the way in the delivery of that deficit. With that, I'll take my place.

Hon. A. Virk: I rise today to respond to Budget 2013. This is my maiden speech, but before I get started, there are a couple of acknowledgements I must make.

First of all, congratulations to all of my colleagues on both sides of the House for being in the House. It's a great honour to serve with all of you.

I would not be here today without the dedication of many, many volunteers and many other individuals. First of all, I'm a son of soldiers and farmers. I owe a lot to my family, my parents Swarn and Tej Virk, who had that
[ Page 95 ]
courage to cross an ocean to bring a better life for their children. My gratitude goes out to them.

My gratitude goes out to my wife, Jatinder, my three daughters — Anisha, Jusleen and Maansi — who have supported me in this endeavour and continue to support me in this endeavour.

As I said, service is very important to me. I'm the third generation in my family to have served their country, whether in uniform or in an assembly such as this. That's after 25 years of my service in uniform with the RCMP that I now serve British Columbians in a different way. Duty to community is very important, and that's how I've come here.

I'm representing the riding of Surrey-Tynehead. Surrey-Tynehead is in the incredible city of Surrey. It's a city of fusion. I will tell you what I mean by fusion. It's a city where east meets west. It's a community where pioneers walk alongside the refugee. It's a community that speaks many languages. It's a city that reflects the world, and that's the community I represent and the community I will continue to represent.

[1455]

I spent the last six years in Surrey, serving on the Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation, which raised millions of dollars to enhance health care for Surrey. I'm so proud of that city — the volunteers, the donors, the young children, the elders that came and emptied their pockets to donate to those causes.

The largest health care investment in British Columbia's history, more than half a billion dollars, is the Surrey Memorial Hospital critical care tower, which is going to be open soon and indeed is a testament to this government.

Two great universities, Kwantlen Polytechnic University and SFU Surrey campus, so more young people in Surrey can stay in Surrey and receive the finest in post-secondary education in their community. World-class trades training centres at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

We talk much about the million jobs that are going to be here by 2020 — 43 percent of them requiring trades or technical training. I take it as a compliment that we have a government and a province where we feel there are going to be a million jobs — a province where there are going to be a million jobs because the world believes in the relationships and the strong economy that we built.

The future of our province depends on our government ensuring that B.C.'s economy is strong. That means seizing upon a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — a B.C. liquefied natural gas industry. It means investing in small business by cutting red tape and keeping taxes low. It means investing in the modernization of education and skills training to ensure we're preparing young people for the jobs of the future — those we can foresee and those we can't foresee. It means creating a road map to a debt-free B.C.

That's what Budget 2013 means. This budget is balanced, and our government is working hard to ensure a secure and prosperous future for our children.

We don't live in a vacuum. We live in a world that's very much global. These are exciting times in British Columbia. We're working hard to strengthen our trade with the Asia-Pacific, with India, with China, with Korea and the emerging economies of the world. I'm very proud that my own community of Surrey is playing a key role in that development. We have these incredible ties to these countries, and that's how we're going to focus on building a local infrastructure that’s going to get our needs to these overseas markets.

For the past number of years we've invested in a number of opportunities that are going to bring our goods to market — the widening of Highway 1, the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge, the construction of the south perimeter road. This year we've committed to the replacement of Massey Tunnel as well. That's going to happen sometime in the near future.

These projects directly affect my community. They have reduced travel times, eased congestion and helped to ensure our goods are getting to overseas markets as quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.

Take the South Fraser perimeter road — one example — a $1.3 billion investment expected to create 4,000 construction jobs and 7,000 long-term jobs in manufacturing, light industrial and small business operations right in my own backyard in Surrey.

Our government is focused on making British Columbia the headquarters for Asian business in North America. I think we're on the right track to do that. Since 2007, when the government launched the Asia-Pacific initiative, our exports to Asia have increased by more than $5 billion. Our work is starting to pay off, but this is only the beginning. We must work together to ensure that we can do so.

I mentioned earlier that I'm a proud father of three. That's why I want to build a debt-free British Columbia, not only for my children but for all of your children — all the children of British Columbia, all the grandchildren, the future generations of British Columbia. The prosperity fund will allow us to pay off our debt within 15 years and pay for health care, education and social services in my backyard in Surrey. Every community in British Columbia, including Surrey, will benefit from this opportunity and the prosperity fund that will ensure prosperity for the next generation.

Now a bit on my own ministry. First of all, I do want to thank the some 36,000 educators in the post-secondary system — incredibly dedicated individuals who have the interests of their students at heart — and the dedicated leaders of these post-secondary institutions who have the interests of the province at heart.

World-class post-secondary education, skills training and other public services are only available with a strong
[ Page 96 ]
economy. That's why high-quality, affordable and accessible post-secondary education continues to be a priority for this government and will continue to be a priority for this government. A little-known fact is that the public invests $5 million a day in post-secondary education. That's a record for the amount of expenditure on post-secondary education.

[1500]

We have a responsibility as well — a very heavy responsibility — that we invest that money wisely for taxpayers and for students. We have a responsibility to ensure that our money, our investment, works for us.

The Ministry of Advanced Education — as I said, we don't operate in a vacuum. It's teamwork. It's going to be working with the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and the Ministry of Education. We want seamless education from K to 12, from high school right to the workforce. It's not all about the new student. It's about retooling that returning leader, that returning learner. At the same time, a priority over the coming years will be to control spending and to make the most effective use of existing and scarce resources.

We want to continue to minimize overhead within publicly funded universities and, where possible, consolidate functions across various post-secondary institutions. We must capitalize on economies of scale. We will continue to work in collaboration with post-secondary institutions and set targets for graduates so that the skills that we need are the skills that we're graduating.

I want to make sure — and that's a personal commitment — that our students get a paycheque in their back pocket with a well-paying job when they graduate from that university. We're also going to review student loan programs and look for ways to improve them, to make them more efficient and more adaptable to student needs.

All post-secondary boards across British Columbia will also be required to undertake a core review of all the programming to make sure all the seats allotted are filled.

There are a number of other goals that I've committed to that I'm going to fulfil during my mandate.

Increasing the number of international students. We have some 100,000 international students that are coming from all corners of the globe to come to this post-secondary system, because they believe in our post-secondary system.

The establishment of a school of traditional Chinese medicine at a public post-secondary university. That's another commitment.

Establishing a centre of excellence of agriculture in the Fraser Valley, to capitalize on the strength of our agricultural industry.

Open textbooks. What a novel concept to save students hundreds of dollars. It's a world leader in offering open textbooks to students in British Columbia. That's a saving of several hundred, if not at times several thousands, of dollars to students. I think we're going to lead the industry across the world, and many others will come to our doorstep to learn from our experience.

Some accomplishments. I think it's more than appropriate that the public understands our accomplishments. At least 400,000 students are going to enrol in at least one course in our post-secondary public institutions. In addition to that, with the private career-training institutes and a number of other institutes, we're looking at over half a million students in this province — 130 campuses, satellites, learning centres throughout the province.

A little recap. Since 2001 some 32,000 student seats have been added, along with seven new public universities. In addition to high student demand, some institutions are able to exceed their student intake as well, and they're doing this because of efficient use of resources and partnerships.

I need to remind once again that there's a commitment to student spaces. Last year this ministry targeted for 201,000 full-time positions, yet more than 206,000 were delivered. The difference is actual in the targeted spaces. We expect the same again this year. Let me be clear. I have heard numbers bantered around about reduction in university spaces. There is no reduction to student spaces — none, zero.

Planned additional spaces also include 160 new spaces in student nursing, medical technicians, pharmacy, midwifery and physician programs. There are all sorts of remote communities in this province that need more of these kinds of occupations.

While we've expanded the capacity of the education system, we've also capped tuition — I think that's important to note — annually at 2 percent. The national average is 5 percent, and British Columbia, since 2006, has been capped at 2 percent. For the last four years running, tuition rates in British Columbia have been the fourth-lowest in Canada.

[1505]

There are more than 33,000 apprentices in the trades-training system. Right now in this beautiful province 33,000 young men and women are training to be apprentices in more than 100 different trades that are available. That's more than double the number since 2004.

The number of aboriginal students enrolled — public post-secondary students — increased by some 18 percent. That's another commitment. We need to work on that, but an 18 percent increase is phenomenal.

Taxpayers have invested, as I said before, about $5 million a day — that works out to about $1.9 billion a year — in post-secondary education. The other fact that I think is most important to know, as well, is that there's some $2.3 billion in infrastructure spent on 1,200 projects across campuses throughout this province — 1,200 capital projects.

Over the next three years we're going to spend another $460 million in capital projects in post-secondary education. Some of these projects are going to be all over
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the province — Emily Carr University, right here in the Lower Mainland, just across the water; investment in Camosun College, in the trades program; a similar investment in the Okanagan.

We have a world-class post-secondary education system. My vision for that system is to be nimble, to be flexible, not only for today's realities but for future challenges; to be flexible and nimble to tackle the emerging economy — a system that meets the ever-changing needs of government, students and industry. The centres of excellence that I spoke about before will leverage the expertise in shipbuilding, in agriculture, in mining and in oil and gas development.

I want to see governments, universities, colleges, institutions and industry working together, engaging in a dialogue and collaborating to maintain our world-class post-secondary education system. Whether it's by administrative savings, developing new programs to align skills with jobs or investing in new facilities, collaboration is critical and essential.

In closing, I'm indeed humbled and honoured to have served my fellow Canadians for the last quarter century and humbled and honoured to be able to have the opportunity to serve British Columbians as the Minister of Advanced Education.

I have a commitment to high-quality, accessible, post-secondary education. It continues to be a priority for this government. Frankly, a student satisfaction rate of over 95 percent…. That's what this province has. We have a world-class educational system. It's the envy of the world. British Columbia should be very, very proud of its accomplishments, as I am.

Deputy Speaker: I wish to thank the member and recognize the member for Oak Bay–Gordon Head.

Introductions by Members

A. Weaver: With your leave, I have one more introduction I would like to make.

Joining us in the gallery today is the Member of Parliament for Saanich–Gulf Islands, Elizabeth May. I'm hoping you could join me in welcoming her.

Debate Continued

A. Weaver: Members, I'm honoured to rise today to give my response to the budget that was reintroduced last week. Before I begin my response, I want to make a few quick acknowledgments.

First and foremost, I would like to recognize the dedicated work of my predecessor in Oak Bay–Gordon Head, Ida Chong, for her representation of our community. She made it her job to attend every community event that she could, and she worked very hard for her constituents through her various ministerial positions.

This Friday, for example, a project that she spent many years working on will come to fruition. That is the groundbreaking for the new Oak Bay high school. One of my goals is to strive to meet the standard she set for all those who wish to represent our riding.

Secondly, of course, I'd like to thank my family for their tireless support of me over the past few months. Campaigns are easy on no one, least of all our families, as many of you will attest. Thank you.

I would also like to acknowledge the countless volunteers who assisted during the campaign. It was truly a team effort that led to our success.

Finally, I'd like to acknowledge the staff of the Legislature. Transitioning into this historic building and into the role as an MLA could have been far more challenging were it not for the supportive people who have assisted me and my staff in preparing ourselves for the duties that we face.

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To my constituents, I thank you for putting your faith in me to be your voice in this Legislature. As I noted during the campaign, I will support good policy while not hiding from my role to constructively criticize policy that doesn't serve you, my constituents. I look forward to working with members on both sides of these aisles, both those familiar to me and those who I have not yet had the chance to meet.

Now to the budget. On February 19, 2008, I sat on the other side of this chamber as a guest of Premier Gordon Campbell while the hon. Carole Taylor presented her budget. That day I watched as the Liberal government laid out a vision for B.C. that redefined the legacy we would leave to our children. That budget stood as a turning point for British Columbia, not simply because it put us on a path to lead the continent in climate policy but because it signalled an end to either-or thinking that pits the environment against the economy.

To quote the former Finance Minister: "It is a budget that confronts and completely overturns the outdated notion that you have to choose either a healthy environment or a strong economy. That's simply not the case. That either-or thinking belongs to the past."

February 19, 2008, was an historic moment in B.C. Together, and under Liberal leadership, we recognized the importance of addressing one of the most pressing issues of our time: climate change. And we did so in the context of strong economic policy. But here we are in 2013, and once again we have the opportunity to forge a future for British Columbia that we can all be proud of. Yet doing so demands of us the continued recognition that a strong economy and a healthy environment must go hand in hand.

The government has proposed a budget for 2013 that is designed to define a legacy — not only their legacy but that of all British Columbians. In doing so, it offers a vision for our province's future. It's a vision that meets the
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needs of the present while offering our children the opportunity to be unburdened by the choices of past generations so that they, too, may be free to make their own choices to build their own future.

The question I pose to this room today: does this budget achieve this vision? The 2013 budget undoubtedly contains elements that British Columbians will applaud — a focus on taking steps to ensure fiscal management in these uncertain economic times, investment in skills training, commitments to work with First Nations on economic development, plans to enhance end-of-life care and ultimately reduce the provincial debt for future generations.

Despite these strengths, the budget rests on a foundation that will undercut the very vision the Liberals have proposed. I believe that, ultimately, we all want the same thing: a future that ensures that the needs of both present and future generations are met, a future that provides our children with opportunities for innovation and prosperity. But we must be cautious of striding forward, heedless of the obstacles before us. We must not lose sight of our vision when the going gets tough, and we must not rest our future on one desired outcome.

In the scientific profession, we are always cautious of allowing our assumptions to exceed the evidence. So too must we be wary of this in government. Starting from the assumption that the prosperity of future generations lies solely in the development and export of liquefied natural gas will ensure that the only evidence we use is evidence that supports this conclusion.

To base our economy on LNG is to risk subjecting B.C.'s economy to the boom-and-bust roller coaster of global fossil fuel pricing, with all its twists and turns and drops. Meanwhile, investors are increasingly highlighting the possibility of a global carbon bubble and the real economic risks that surround it.

To attempt to lay all our eggs in this one basket on the hope, the desperate hope, that we will be the one exception, the one jurisdiction that will defy history and economics, is to base our very future on unstable ground. Yet even if we defy the odds, coast through the boom-and-bust cycles and breeze through the carbon bubble, we cannot achieve our provincial carbon targets while we double down on LNG.

We'll have no choice but to abandon our continent-leading climate commitments. And that's not politics. That's science. The numbers just don't add up. The carbon emissions associated with LNG development are simply too high to allow us to meet those targets that are a matter of law under the 2007 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act.

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So we once again find ourselves facing the same choice that the Liberal government so aptly framed in 2008. We can offer future generations a path that pits the economy against the environment for narrow-sighted economic gain, or we can be the generation that leaves a legacy that rejects this outdated thinking, one that invests in a strong and enduring economy that is founded on a culture of unwavering environmental responsibility.

Now is no time to turn back on our convictions, no matter how challenging they may be to uphold. To quote Minister Taylor again: "How many times have we heard people talk about the importance of the environment, only to change their tune as soon as the economy faced challenges? Our children, our young people, are asking better of us. They're asking us to face directly the challenges of the future — not when it's convenient, but right now."

I believe we need to continue to meet those challenges, to strive for a grander goal that sees us forge ahead not only in developing a strong, sustainable, diversified economy but to do so in a matter that ensures we continue to lead North America in our commitments to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Together, we can achieve this goal. British Columbia is endowed with clean energy potential like few other places on earth — not just hydro but wind, solar, geothermal and tidal, to name but a few.

According to the 2011 report written by KPMG, B.C.'s clean tech sector, although young, shows tremendous opportunities for growth. It's a sector that provides local, secure and high-paying jobs. In the U.S., for example, federal reports show that green jobs have grown at a rate four times faster than the national average.

There's an incredible untapped potential in the clean tech sector, and the fact is that we have the industry, the expertise and the environmental resources to lead the world in this area. What we need is clear government leadership and policy to help develop this clean tech sector. The world is moving in this direction, and we need to as well if we are to keep ahead.

Just last week President Obama gave a speech outlining his vision for a transition to a low-carbon economy. His speech made it clear that the current and future effects of climate change cannot be ignored. There's just too much at stake. To quote from his speech: "We do not have time for a meeting of the flat earth society. Sticking your head in the sand might make you feel safer, but it's not going to protect you from the coming storm."

The tragic flooding that devastated Calgary and the Uttarakhand region of India, the wildfires engulfing Arizona, the heat wave in Las Vegas and the storm surge that wreaked havoc on New York late last fall pale in comparison to the extreme weather events we have in store as a consequence of unchecked global warming.

What we are about to see are clear and significant shifts in economic policy, subsidies, innovation and engineering from the United States. The question is: what will B.C. do? President Obama has recognized the economic opportunity that dealing with climate change offers the U.S. and the world. To quote from him again: "Countries
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like China and Germany are going all in for the race for clean energy…. I want America to win that race, but we can't win it if we're not in it."

This focus on a shift from an economy currently dominated by fossil fuels to one built on renewable energy and the clean tech sector should be a wake-up call for British Columbia. The U.S. is set to become a leader in this area, placing our province as a distant second cousin to our southern neighbours. But it doesn't have to be this way. B.C. was, could and should continue to be at the forefront of promoting innovation and economic prosperity through our clean tech and clean energy sectors.

As we move forward, let's be clear about what clean energy is. Clean energy is energy that does not emit carbon into the atmosphere. Hydro, solar and wind — these are clean energies. Natural gas is not clean energy. Sure, it's cleaner energy, cleaner than coal and oil, but that still does not make it clean energy.

Permitting the use of natural gas as a clean energy source to provide the energy that fuels the LNG export is not what the Clean Energy Act was created to do. Those of us who were involved in B.C.'s Climate Action Team, appointed by the former Premier Gordon Campbell, know this. Similarly, we know that developing the Site C dam but then using it to power the liquefication facilities before a natural gas export was also contrary to the very notion of why, increasingly, we need to develop our clean energy resources.

There's no doubt that natural gas will have a role to play in helping us move towards a low-carbon economy and one that will be able to provide for its citizens. Government, for example, could work with industry to transition truck fleets from diesel to natural gas, providing potential savings to operators and helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions emanating from our transportation sector.

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Similarly, government could investigate the use of natural gas in its B.C. Ferries fleet, helping reduce its operating costs and lowering its greenhouse gas emissions all at once.

These examples highlight how natural gas should be used: as a transitional complement to other sources of truly renewable energy. Natural gas should not be the main act, and its development should not be an end unto itself.

Yet, ultimately, this vision is about more than the economy and the environment. Building a stable, low-carbon economy is about creating the opportunities that allow us to provide the essential public services that we all agree are necessary, without the uncertainty and risk of boom-and-bust funding cycles.

In my riding of Oak Bay–Gordon Head alone we face significant challenges. We face significant challenges in enhancing seniors care, in addressing adolescent mental health, in finding cost-effective means of dealing with our sewage. We must work with schools, colleges and universities to map a path for continued world-class education and one that addresses the significant challenges youth face in breaking into the job market.

These are just a few of the many examples of challenges whose solutions rest on the foundation of a strong, stable, low-carbon economy. Together, let's make this possible, because we can.

I would like to finish with a final quote, once more from the hon. Carole Taylor as she finished her budget speech in 2008. I ask that as we continue the budget debate and move into the next four years, we consider Minister Taylor's words very carefully and ask ourselves what legacy we here in the Legislature want to leave. To quote Minister Taylor: "We can be the generation that had it all and let it slip away, or we can seize this opportunity which is before us to be the generation of British Columbians who made the right decisions, who chose to take action and, by doing so, showed their respect for the earth, for the atmosphere, for those who came before us and for those who will follow in the decades to come."

Hon. S. Cadieux: I'm pleased to speak today in support of the budget and the direction set out by this government for the future of British Columbia. I am very grateful to my constituents of Surrey-Cloverdale for placing their trust in me to work on their behalf in this House.

I'd also like to say a very special thank you to my husband, Daniel, and my family and close friends for their support and understanding. This is often a very challenging job with respect to the demands on our time, and I very much appreciate their support.

A big thank you, of course, also to my election team — a stellar bunch of people who worked tirelessly to ensure that I returned.

I'd like to give a special welcome to the new member for Surrey-Panorama. It's nice for me to know that my former constituents will have a good representative here in Victoria.

I'd also like to thank my constituency assistants, Sharon Crowson and Holly Halford, who do a wonderful job supporting me and providing help to my constituents in my absences. As well, a quick note of thanks to my staff in my ministry office. We don't often have a chance to say thank you to those folks publicly, but I would like to thank Val, Christina, Francesca and Meghan for their support here in Victoria.

Of course, I welcome, as well, all of the new members on both sides of the House. I trust that you will find your time here to be as interesting, challenging and rewarding as I have found mine to be.

I'd like to take a moment, as well, to acknowledge a loss. Shortly after the election, Cloverdale lost a great man, former MLA and minister Bill Reid — Mr. Surrey himself. He was a tremendous individual, a great sup-
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porter of mine and my predecessors, a great Canadian. He will be missed.

Again, I am proud to speak in support of balanced budget 2013. It lays out a path for the future of British Columbia through continued prudent fiscal management. We have a lot of children in my riding of Surrey-Cloverdale, a lot of young families and a lot of small businesses. As their MLA and Minister of Children and Family Development, I'll certainly be working hard for all of them.

As I look at our budget, unlike much of what I have heard listening to speeches from the opposition, I see a lot of positive, forward-thinking ideas. I see a new B.C. training and education savings grant — an opportunity for families to plan for their future, to make sure that their children have an opportunity and a head start to go into their post-secondary education.

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I see 2.4 billion additional dollars for our health care system — a system that returns, to all of our benefit, some of the best health care outcomes in all of the country. I see a $146 million commitment to support 180,000 families with child care costs. I see a new early-years strategy that will invest $76 million over the next three years to support the creation of new child care spaces and improve the quality of child care and early learning services. I see $210 million over three years for the learning improvement fund, to ensure that kids in our K-to-12 system are prepared for success in our rapidly changing world.

These things are important, and there are many other things that are important that aren't in this budget. That's because, as legislators, we have an obligation to make difficult decisions, to prioritize and to recognize that we have an obligation to think not just about today but also about future generations. Sometimes that means the answer is no.

This is the clear mandate we've been given by British Columbians and one that presents both exciting challenges and exciting opportunities. I look forward to working with my ministry to ensure that children and families receive efficient and effective social services — services that help overcome barriers that stand in their way, services that help them to thrive today through all of their ages and stages of life.

I mentioned a few moments ago that in this budget there are additional dollars for our early-years strategy. Despite challenging economic times, of course, and a tight budget, our ministry is seeing an increase this year of $76 million over the next three years, to work on the early-years strategy. This strategy is going to ensure that working families see barriers removed so that they can participate in the economy, knowing their children are getting the best start in life. With that in mind, I'm excited to be moving forward this year with this strategy.

It's about using our resources wisely. The aims, of course, are quality, access, affordability and choice. We start this year with the creation of a provincial office for the early years to ensure that activities across government are targeted and well coordinated. Next, the strategy advances to implementing community-based early-years centres that offer parents and caregivers one-stop access to practical advice, support and links to child care and early childhood development services.

We will also create a provincewide child care registry to provide parents with better information on what's available in their community.

More child care is coming. Our strategy will increase the number of licensed spaces that we have in B.C. We're going to create 2,000 new spaces in the next three years, up to 13,000 over the next eight years. That adds to the 100,000 licensed spaces that we already support.

In 2015 we will bring in the B.C. childhood benefit for about 180,000 families with young children. Our early-years strategy is backed with a strong funding commitment that will help improve support for families and ensure that our youngest British Columbians are indeed enjoying the best possible start in life.

Our children's future is precisely why we're committed to growing the economy and creating prosperity in British Columbia, even while the global economy remains fragile. Our children are going to want to know that their own children are going to enjoy the same programs that they did. For that, we need to grow our systems of support, and we need to do that in a sustainable manner.

Indeed, we need to balance the budget. We need to achieve a debt-free B.C. in our near future. That is the challenge ahead for this government. We can't let the next generation of British Columbians be saddled with debt they had no hand in creating. As the next generation comes of age, we want them to have opportunities, to have choices, to have high-quality jobs and sustainable social services that they can rely on for their own families in their own communities.

This budget sets a foundation that will increase our resilience and our economic growth in times of global uncertainty. We want a system of strong public services and programs for the citizens of B.C., but it has to be sustainable as much as it is effective. This can only be done by growing the economy and being strategic in our spending while we chart a course for a debt-free British Columbia. This budget is based on a vision that looks realistically and strategically at our circumstances today but doesn't lose sight of tomorrow.

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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be back in this House, I am very proud to be speaking in support of the budget, and I'm very proud to be back and leading the Ministry of Children and Family Development, where I believe we do some of the most critical work in British Columbia.

C. James: It's a pleasure to rise in this House, as many
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members have already said, to offer congratulations to all the members who have been elected and to speak about what an honour it is to have this role, to be given this privilege by the people in your community.

I want to thank the people of Victoria–Beacon Hill for once again giving me the pleasure to serve on their behalf in my community. It is a real treat to be able to serve a community that you grew up in, that I've raised my children in and that I continue to live in.

I joke often that my family deserves the biggest credit, because going grocery shopping with me is a good couple of hours, as constituents stop in the grocery store to chat and to raise the issues that they want to raise. Yet that is such an enormous privilege — to be able to each and every day have the opportunity to connect with your constituents.

I also have the good fortune to be the MLA who can walk to work every day, as I live just a couple of blocks away from the Legislature. For those members who have to travel from distances, I know that I am incredibly fortunate, when the Legislature is sitting, to be able to go home in the evening and to be able to connect with my community ongoing.

I do remind those members, though, that it also means that if you're in the community, you also have events to do after the Legislature is finished, because people know you're here. So there is some extra duty that comes with being the local MLA as well.

I do want to express my appreciation to my family — to my parents, who provided the best role models that I could ever have as an individual growing up, who taught me to speak my mind, who taught me to stand up for what I believe in and who taught me to stand up against injustices; and to my husband, Al. We lead an interesting life in two corners of this province, as he provides his leadership as chief in his community in the north, and I provide the kind of support to my community. I thank him for his patience. I thank him for his leadership in this province as well.

To my children, to my grandchildren and to their families, a huge thank-you for reminding me what's important in life. In the midst of this job it is very easy to often forget what's critical and what's important. My family and my grandchildren remind me of that each and every day.

I want to speak, with my time that I have today, a little bit about the priorities of my constituents. I live in a very active, engaged community. There are not things that will get by without my community expecting that they will be involved, that they will have a chance to have their voices heard and that they will be engaged in the issues.

So as I come to this budget, I come to it looking to see how the hopes and dreams and aspirations of my constituents are reflected. What does this budget do for people in my community, the kinds of issues that I heard about on the campaign trail, the kinds of issues I hear about every single day in my community? What does this budget do for them?

I think it is important first to look at what a budget is. A budget really is about wise and prudent management of taxpayer dollars. It's about setting the conditions for strong economic growth in our province, and it's a reflection of the government's priorities.

Let's take a look at those for a moment, if we can. I want to start with looking at the conditions for strong economic growth, because this is something we hear members on the other side talk about. Certainly, something we heard lots about during the campaign was that the government is looking at building a strong economy.

Now, I think building a strong economy should be a critical priority. I think it's a critical priority to my community, to the families in my community who need that strong economic growth to build a future for themselves, to support their families. It's critical for the many small businesses and entrepreneurs that I see in my community each and every day.

Given that priority and given the discussion that we heard during the election, let's take a look at how this budget measures up when it comes to building a strong economy. The government says that this budget, and their priority, is all about jobs.

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What's the reality? The reality is that since the Premier's job plan was launched in September 2011, we've seen private sector job gains in Alberta, in Saskatchewan, in Manitoba, in Ontario, in Quebec and in Atlantic Canada. What's the situation right here in British Columbia? Private sector jobs in British Columbia — 31,300 jobs lost. A budget that supposedly is creating jobs, a government that says they're all about building a strong economy, yet we see over 31,000 private sector jobs lost in the time period since this Premier brought in her jobs plan.

We also see a loss in construction jobs — 37,400 jobs lost. That's a key measure of this budget and a key measure of this government that, obviously, is a failure.

Another measure that we see the government constantly using — and again, we certainly heard this during the election — is interprovincial migration. Where are people moving across the country? Are they coming to B.C., or are they leaving B.C.? That's often an indicator of what kind of situation families are facing when they're here in the province.

Well, to look at the facts, we see that we lost in British Columbia 10,388 people from B.C. to the rest of Canada — again, a worrisome trend when it comes to building economic growth.

Let's look at a few other measures. Real GDP growth, down 1.6 percent to 1.4 percent — a drop. Retail sales growth down 3.5 percent to 1.8 percent — a hugely concerning statistic when it comes to building a strong economy. B.C. housing starts, which were already down in this measure by 10 percent, are now down by 13.3 percent.
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That's again a worrisome trend. When we have a government that says that's what this budget is about, when we have a government that says that's their priority and you take a look at the facts, you see just the opposite.

That's concerning not simply because it means that the government isn't being upfront about the statistics. It's concerning because of the impact on the people in this province and the people in my community of Victoria–Beacon Hill who are worried and want a strong economy here.

What would be another indicator of the purpose of a budget? Well, that would be wise fiscal management of taxpayer dollars. Let's remember these are not the government's tax dollars. These are the public's tax dollars. These are dollars that belong to our communities and to the families in our communities. They don't belong to the government.

Taking a look at government projects is an interesting way of looking at how the government has managed taxpayer dollars. Did they do it wisely? Did they do it based on plans, business plans? Did they make sure that those projects were on time and on budget? Did they make sure those dollars were being spent properly?

I want to give you a few examples of where this government has gone on fiscal management of taxpayer dollars. South Fraser perimeter road, 58 percent over budget. Port Mann and Highway 1, 120 percent over budget. The Vancouver Convention Centre, 68 percent. B.C. Place roof, 41 percent. The northwest transmission line —we're not at the end of the project yet; I expect that to go up even further — 85 percent. Is that a good use of taxpayer dollars, to run those kinds of projects over budget? Think of what those resources could have done in communities.

Why don't we take a look at the facts, at the measures. We see that this government hasn't managed our economy well. We see job losses. We see debt increasing. We see consumer confidence way down. They certainly haven't shown careful use of taxpayer dollars in just the few examples I've given of projects where this government has been over budget.

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What does this budget plan to do about all of that? What does this government, through its budget, do to address the challenges we see in economic growth? What do they do to address the challenges that my community and other communities around British Columbia have raised? I'm certain that if we heard them on the campaign trail, the other side will have heard many of these concerns as well.

The first priority that I heard loud and clear from my constituents is the issue of affordability. People are struggling. These aren't simply people that are living on the street or are homeless, and I'll talk in a minute about that area of poverty. These are working families. These are people with both parents working often one and two jobs, trying to do the right thing to support their families, and they're just not able to get ahead. They are living month to month, if they are able to get to the end of the month.

What do they see in this budget — those families that are doing the right things, that are working hard to support their families, that want things better for their children? They see life more difficult in this budget. They see hydro rates that are going up by $346 per year. They see MSP premiums increasing $736 for families. They see tuition fees that have more than doubled. They see ferry fares that have gone up from a 53 percent increase to an 87 percent increase.

The week before last they also saw a wheelchair tax for families in long-term care — so much for families first. So much for families first. The families who are struggling to get by — that's the kind of response that they get.

On the medical service premiums, we get families coming into our office on a regular basis. You make more than $30,000, and you pay the full rate on MSP premiums. You make $200,000, and you pay the same as the family who is making more than $30,000. How is that fair, Mr. Speaker? How does that provide support for families? How does that address affordability?

The second area that I want to speak about is the area of poverty and inequality, because the people in my community aren't simply concerned with their own affordability issues. They're concerned with affordability issues for other families in our community. We see nothing about a provincewide poverty reduction plan in this budget.

We see no commitment, as we've seen from governments across this country — Conservative, New Democrat, Liberal governments — who have all stood up and said they recognize that addressing poverty addresses building a strong economy — that if you leave families behind and children behind, you are not addressing a strong society, and you're certainly not addressing a strong community or strong economy. Yet again we see nothing here, no priority to support the most vulnerable, no commitment to address this issue.

I hear this government talking about core services. Well, what could be more core to a service of government than providing support for the most vulnerable? What could be more core, Mr. Speaker? Yet again, does the budget address this? Does this budget recognize the kind of challenges that people are living on, on income assistance and disability? What do we say, Mr. Speaker, when…?

To give you a specific example, I had a senior citizen come into my community office this past week who told me that her husband's teeth are rotting in his mouth. They can get no support and no service for dental care — nothing. He's gone to his doctor. His doctor has brought forward a letter saying he faces challenges. He's going to face infection. He's not eating because his gums are infected. There is no support for that senior couple to be able to get dental work done, which isn't an extra, isn't
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cosmetic. It's a necessity.

How does this budget address that? How does this budget talk to that couple, that senior couple? It doesn't.

A third area that I want to speak about is the issue of health care and seniors care. We see in this budget an unrealistic lift to health care that we know is going to mean health care cuts.

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I think, because we have seen this scene before, that we know what's going to happen. The government is going to say: "Oh, we're not making cuts. This is the health authorities that are reducing budgets. It's not us. Public, don't worry about what we're doing. Look over there at the health authorities." Well, the health authorities are the government. They're carrying out those health programs on behalf of government.

We have already started to see some of those concerns. We've heard about mental health programs being cut already. We know about the wheelchair tax. I expect we'll see more to come as the year goes on, and we'll see unrealistic spending when it comes to health care. What does this budget do? It makes that situation worse.

What about youth with mental health issues? Again, a really large area across the province, but certainly in my community in particular. I hear from families who have taken their child in crisis to a hospital emergency to be told, "Here's your Ativan. Go back home again, and you'll be on a wait-list for services" — crisis situations for families. Often the family is at the end of their rope. They've done everything right. They want to care for their young person. They want to provide them with support, but they need some help to do it, with mental health issues. Again they're told: "You'll be on a wait-list."

How does this budget address the concerns of those families? How does this budget say to those individual families that we'll provide support? It doesn't. It doesn't provide support to those families. Again, what could be more important? What could be a more critical service for government than to provide support for those children and those families? Children in a mental health crisis can't wait. Going on a wait-list when a child is suicidal or when they're facing a crisis of mental health issues is not a reality for families, yet that's what they're facing. I see nothing again that provides support.

In areas of health care where we could actually save money, like therapeutics initiatives, the government cuts it and gets rid of it — a place where we could actually invest and save resources. Or home care support, where we could add more resources to save money by moving seniors from acute care beds, getting the kind of support they need. Again, we don't see a major investment in that area.

Education is another big priority for my community, everything from early childhood to post-secondary education — again, investments that, if we do them properly, will save the system resources, yet I don't see support when it comes to this budget in those areas. In fact, we see cuts in post-secondary education. At a time when we need to be investing in skills training, we see cuts in post-secondary education — again, another example of this government saying one thing and doing just the opposite. "We're going to make a ten-year plan for skills training, yet by the way, we're cutting post-secondary education." That's what this budget does.

The last area I want to touch on is the area of protection for the environment which fits with the economy. When I heard my colleague from Oak Bay–Gordon Head speak earlier about the link between the economy and the environment, I would agree with him about the importance of that. I would add in inequality, because I think if you don't address all three, you don't build a strong province. You don't build a strong community. I believe, yes, that you need to look at sustainable economic development, you need to protect the environment, but you also need to address the inequality piece.

That's a huge concern in our community. That's why my community stood up so strongly against an increase in tanker traffic. They feel that we already have a strong economic activity going on, on our coast when it comes to tourism, when it comes to fisheries. Why would you put all of that at risk?

The last piece that my community talks about — we are, after all, a government town in Victoria — is good government. People are looking for honesty. They're looking to build that trust back with the political system. People are pretty disillusioned right now with what they see. It's critical that we address that, that all of us in this Legislature address that cynicism.

If we don't, if people disconnect from our democratic process, that's unhealthy — and not for political parties, not for us as individuals. That's unhealthy for democracy.

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A healthy democracy needs public engagement. It needs people feeling that they can make a difference through their votes or through a conversation with an MLA or a meeting with someone in their community office. Yet right now people are feeling that they can't have that impact.

I certainly hope that we see an opportunity to have that kind of public engagement through the tools in the Legislature, through our individual work as MLAs and through our combined work here. I think that's a critical piece that I certainly took from the election and that we all need to work on if we're going to ensure we have a healthy democracy.

As the public takes a look at this budget, I think they're going to be disappointed. They're not going to see a budget that addresses the challenges they face. They don't expect government to do everything. They're looking for government to not make their life more difficult, to be there to provide support.

As the MLA for Victoria–Beacon Hill I plan to work to impact that positive change in whatever way I can. I will
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be here to praise the government when I feel it's going in the direction that is needed to support my community, and I'll be here to speak out when they're not. I believe that's a critical role as a member of the opposition, a critical role that I take seriously and that I plan to continue to carry out.

I thank the people of my community for giving me the privilege to be able to serve in this House once again.

Hon. S. Anton: It's a great honour to be here today representing the voters of Vancouver-Fraserview and speaking, as well, as the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

Vancouver-Fraserview is a beautiful riding on the southeast slopes of Vancouver — Vancouver's sunny south slope, I like to call it — running along the banks of the historic Fraser River. It's a diverse riding, with nearly 50 percent of the population being of Chinese heritage — or, in fact, many recent immigrants. About 14 percent of the riding is Indo-Canadian.

[R. Chouhan in the chair.]

There are many, many seniors. I might have to argue with the previous speaker as to who has more seniors in their riding, but I know that I have, I think, probably more long-term-care facilities and residential facilities for seniors than most, if not all, ridings in the province. Many of them settled in Vancouver-Fraserview.

It's home of the historic Ross Street Temple, which was built in the first go-round by the Indo-Canadian pioneers in Kitsilano and then moved to its current site in South Vancouver in the 1960s. That's home to the Khalsa Diwan Society, which is the oldest non-profit Sikh society outside of India.

As I said, it's a riding of great diversity, but I found when I was door-knocking that there's great similarity there in the way people think. People appreciated the B.C. Liberal message of balancing the budget, growing the economy and building a debt-free British Columbia.

I'd like to take this moment to thank my enthusiastic and hard-working election team. We stayed in a little tiny office in Killarney mall. Everyone had a good time, and people worked so hard to help with my success and our team's success. We door-knocked probably over 10,000 doors. We phoned multiple thousands of phone calls and attended, of course, events day after day in the riding.

I'd like, as well, to take a moment to thank all my family and friends who have supported me throughout my political career and have helped get me to where I am now as a new member in this House. I'm very appreciative of all their help and support over the years.

It's my pleasure today to rise and respond to the June 2013 budget update. The Finance Minister's speech last Thursday no doubt sounded familiar to those in this House. That's because of its consistency with the central campaign message and the theme of this government over a long period of time, the theme that this government was elected on — the message of fiscal prudence and of not only striving to achieve our dreams but ensuring our children and grandchildren have the capacity to chase theirs.

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Balancing the budget and growing our economy are fundamental to our future prosperity. The goal of a debt-free B.C. is a bold plan for a strong economy. The budget update, like our election platform and like the mandate letters received by each of my cabinet colleagues, emphasizes our fundamental need to balance the budget.

I'd like to emphasize here that I ran on balancing the budget. I think I mentioned it to everyone I spoke to during the campaign. I am as solidly committed to the goal of balancing the budget as, I think, anyone in this House, which is why I am so strongly in support of the budget which has been put forward.

We share responsibility, on both sides of this House, for keeping British Columbia on a sound financial footing in what are continuing to be challenging times. British Columbia is one of the strongest economies in the world. I'd like to give credit to all the people in this House who helped keep it that way over the last decade. It is a remarkable achievement.

Balance is a fitting theme not only for our approach to the books but for the priorities which we have consistently laid out. My ministry, the Ministry of Justice, is an excellent example of that.

Our commitments in Justice are to safe communities, strong families and a timely, accessible and confidence-inspiring justice system. These commitments are backed by a budget of over $1 billion. That's a big budget. It's up 2.5 percent from the last fiscal year, but it is essentially unchanged from what was put forward in February.

To name just three changes carrying forward from that budget presented at that time, our government plans to invest $1.57 million in building an on-line tribunal, the civil resolution tribunal. I'll speak more about that later. It includes $15.7 million more to maintain existing front-line RCMP services, and there's a $3.9 million increase for B.C. Corrections to help address base pressures in the operation of custody centres and community corrections offices.

Speaking of custody centres, there is, of course, a large capital plan in my ministry, which is to build the Okanagan correctional centre. That project remains on time and on budget. We look forward to its completion and the approximately 240 new full-time jobs it will bring to the region and the new facility, which will serve the region.

Beyond jobs, though, this new centre is also symbolic of what Parliamentary Secretary Laurie Throness will be doing. He'll be working with stakeholders across the corrections field to propose changes in improvements
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to how we protect staff, inmates and the communities in which correctional facilities are located, important work that this government has already been furthering through the largest capital investment in B.C. Corrections history.

Our focus will remain on spending every taxpayer dollar in the ministry's budget wisely. I have a clear mandate to pursue twin goals — namely, timely and accessible justice, and public safety. We have a bold agenda to achieve that.

We have seen crime dropped to its lowest rate in nearly four decades, but we're not done. In some cases we will continue with the bold steps that our government has taken that are clearly working very well.

We will continue to take the proceeds of crime from criminals and give them back to victims and communities. We will continue to be tough on those drinking and driving in ways that have, to date, in the immediate roadside prohibition program, saved an estimated 143 lives. In other ways we must and will show leadership in new directions.

I'd like to take a moment to speak about justice reform. When I say reform, I'm talking about moving British Columbia towards a more effective and responsive justice and public safety system. We're looking at new and creative ways to identify and address the systemic challenges our system is facing and invest resources appropriately.

In the last year we achieved unprecedented cooperation between courts, lawyers, the ministry and other stakeholders in the justice system, and I am proud that this ministry put those stakeholders together in a justice summit to work together on justice reform. They have just today put forward the report from that summit.

This is to increase access to justice and to work to clear the backlog in our courts, because citizens involved in the system want quick answers and fair solutions. In many cases they don't want to wait, particularly in more minor cases.

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Sometimes courts, on complex matters, will be long and will be complicated. But for quicker cases, easier cases, if we can take those out of courtrooms, we should be doing that. Long court cases are costly to litigants and costly to taxpayers.

I want to make sure that we remain concentrated on improving the justice system so that it is timely, transparent and balanced and so that our justice and public safety services are managed effectively within the resources we have available to us.

I'll give you a couple of examples. The civil resolution tribunal is a project our province is pioneering which will lead the country in terms of on-line dispute resolution. It will be Canada's first-ever on-line tribunal, helping citizens to solve common strata and small civil claim disputes outside the traditional courtroom. That means in 2014, for example, strata owners who are arguing about a style of some windows or a door will be able to use on-line tools from their own homes, if they wish, to work on settling their disagreements.

It's hard to take those minor disputes to court, but solving them through this on-line dispute tribunal will be a much more convenient and easy way to resolve those kinds of disputes. Innovations like this will help save taxpayers money and time.

Even more importantly, the new Family Law Act is another way our government is opening the door to innovation around solving disputes. Children don't want long, costly, time-consuming court cases. The new family law supports, where appropriate, reaching agreement through out-of-court processes like mediation and parenting coordination.

For families going through disputes around things like parenting arrangements, support and property division, mediation allows for increased positive communication, reduced conflict and better cooperation. There's also a greater chance that parties will honour arrangements that they've actually helped to develop themselves. These approaches are much better than taking family cases to court. And they are in the best interests of children, which always must be top of mind in family matters.

Throughout the province we have more than 20 family justice centres and two justice access centres with highly trained family justice counsellors who provide free dispute resolution services to people of modest means, helping them to resolve their family law problems. I'm happy to report that we remain on schedule to launch the first phase of our new justice access centre in Victoria this fall, a one-stop shop for people seeking family and civil law information and services.

Legal aid is another imperative part of our work in ensuring British Columbians have access to justice. We will continue to work closely with the Legal Services Society with an aim to expand their criminal and family legal aid services as resources become available.

We are increasing access to justice for the rapidly growing lower Fraser Valley, working with five municipal partners to examine what a sustainable, long-term court capacity expansion plan looks like for that region.

We will continue our work on electronic ticketing and transferring traffic tickets, again, out of court.

As our tough approach to drinking and driving has shown, administrative approaches and sanctions can improve the efficiency and swiftness of justice, enhancing both deterrence and public safety in the process. The immediate roadside prohibition cases have actually taken 8,000 drinking-and-driving cases out of courtrooms and given administrative sanctions instead.

While we're on the topic of reform and alcohol, I will mention liquor reform. This is a matter on which everyone has an opinion. Certainly, I think just about everybody who has spoken to me since the election has given me an opinion on liquor.
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I want to highlight the work that our ministry will be doing spearheading stakeholder consultations on modernizing B.C.'s liquor laws. This will be the first comprehensive policy review in this area since 1999. It will be undertaken by the member for Richmond-Steveston, reporting to me. We will bring forward a product as soon as we can — not an alcohol product but a reform product on the liquor laws.

Another ongoing ministry effort is the fight against gangs and organized crime. More broadly, we will examine the structure of policing in the context of the policing plan consultation conducted with British Columbians during this government's previous mandate. We will be continuing the dialogue with a specific focus on furthering B.C.'s success in reducing crime.

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As well, in keeping up with the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry report and its focus on regionalization of police services — not necessarily forces but services — we will have a conversation with the leaders of municipalities and police agencies and experts. We'll look at models ranging from further integration to regional service delivery in the metropolitan areas.

On the Missing Women Inquiry. This was the issue of the missing and murdered women. It was a terrible tragedy for the families and for our province. Ours is a government that cares about families. We will continue to analyze how we can move forward on the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry recommendations. We have known for some time, obviously, that the necessary changes are not easy, and they will not happen overnight, but we are continuing to work with the Oppal report and to work on the implementation of those recommendations. That kind of circumstance, that terrible tragedy to families, must never happen again in British Columbia.

From a Justice perspective, the June 2013 budget update reflects our multifaceted vision for safe communities and strong families — innovative approaches to justice and public safety that are about using our existing resources wisely and efficiently. It speaks to the commitment we made to British Columbians as part of our justice reform efforts that should they need to use the justice system, it will be timely, transparent and balanced. It pledges our continued focus on a citizen-centred approach, collaboratively reshaping the justice and public safety system so it better serves the needs of our citizens. It's a vision we've nurtured through the past dozen years.

I speak in support of the budget. It is a balanced budget. There is no better way to support families than by having a strong economy. There is no better way to support children than by creating prosperity. And there is no better way to help seniors than by reducing debt, freeing up funds for the capital and programs that they need. Spending money that you don't have hurts our citizens and hurts our economies. Voters in B.C. recognize that. They voted for a balanced budget, and so do I.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Minister. Before I recognize the next member, just a reminder, please, not to use names when addressing other members in your speeches.

J. Shin: I am privileged to rise for the first time in this House today to represent the people of Burnaby-Lougheed. My constituency was previously served by the former member, Mr. Harry Bloy, and I would like to acknowledge his contributions.

I'd also like to recognize Ms. Christine Clarke, Mr. Ken Kramer and my very good friend Mr. Darwin Burns, as well as all British Columbians across the province who have stepped up to join the democratic process as exceptional candidates for this past general election in May.

Burnaby-Lougheed is a wonderful community located in the northeast corner of Burnaby. Burnaby is the third-largest city in British Columbia by population and was named the best-run city in Canada by Maclean's, thanks to our dedicated public servants from all levels of government and caring residents from all walks of life.

I'm so proud to be a part of a community that demonstrates that fiscal responsibility and social conscience are not either-or endeavours but can be achieved together. We have the stunning Burrard Inlet as our northern border, the quaint Burnaby Mountain centred in the riding and beautiful Burnaby Lake to the south, where I love to visit and make a few casts for trout.

With the Lougheed Highway and the Trans-Canada Highway and the Millennium SkyTrain running right through the constituency, we also serve as an important transportation corridor connecting Vancouver to the rest of the Fraser Valley and into the interior.

Our progressive team of parks commissioners and city councillors, under the proven leadership of His Worship Mayor Derek Corrigan, has our urban city keeping much of the historic waterways open and preserving one of the highest ratios of parkland to residents.

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Like many other British Columbians, my constituents have a profound love and respect for nature. The existing Kinder Morgan pipeline courses right through the residential neighbourhoods, close to elementary schools and housing complexes. It just recently had its second leak in a month, and all too often I hear at the doorstep how concerned people are that their government has handed over complete control of environmental reviews to the federal government. I'll be joining my two Burnaby Members of Parliament and the members for Burnaby–Deer Lake and Burnaby-Edmonds in their advocacy for the environment to keep Burnaby safe and green.

Burnaby is also a base to many industrial and commercial firms, such as Electronic Arts, the William F. White studio, the Global TV station, and many of our residents depend on these sectors to thrive. I'll be urging the government to support these vital industries in my capacity as the deputy critic for Tourism and Small Business, arts
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and culture.

Burnaby is home to some of the most renowned educational institutions, like Simon Fraser University and British Columbia Institute of Technology, as well as to a committed group of hard-working teachers, school trustees and staff that are serving K-to-12 education. The effects of education underfunding over the past decade have resulted in tuition that has more than doubled, crowded our classrooms and left old infrastructure that desperately needs restoration and updates.

When my family's small ice cream store failed, my parents, in their 50s, found the courage to go back to school and earn their credentials in health care. That was 15 years ago, and so much has changed for the worse today. My family is a testament to our fight to keep quality education accessible and affordable for all of us, even for the oldest, like my parents, the weakest and the most desperately eager of us. I'll be continuing that good fight in this Legislature for our students, our families and our educators.

I spent my sweet 16 hospitalized with a very serious blood disorder similar to leukemia. It was in that period that my family experienced firsthand what makes Canada such an amazing country. My treatment that nursed me back to full health cost upwards of $150,000, money my parents didn't have. But we never had to show anything other than our medicare card. So the life that you see in me today would have expired many years ago had it not been for the public health care system we have here.

Again, this past decade our once-renowned and vital medical services have been stripped to their bones. While there seems to be money to go over budget on one project after another, money to increase the size of the government cabinet and money to give incredible pay raises to the political staffers and insiders, times remain tough for the rest of us. There is just no funding for many of the things we rely on, such as health care.

No funding for my city's Burnaby Hospital, which despite the efforts of overworked staff, is currently receiving a grade D rating. No funding for George Derby Centre, which was on the verge of having to lay off more than 90 staff last winter. No funding to better support social services and programs like those at St. Leonard's, Charlford House and Atira Women's Resource centre, which have to turn away every year hundreds of people who need and rely on them.

These are the concerns of people not just in Burnaby-Lougheed but throughout this province. This government does need to realize that balancing the budget is not and should not be about taking from those who are most vulnerable.

That said, on a lighter note, one of the many wonderful things about Burnaby-Lougheed is the incredible diversity that we celebrate, with half of our residents with a non-English mother tongue: South Asians, my friends in the Chinese community, Filipinos, Koreans, Bosnians, Italians, and the list goes on, with over 80 different languages that are spoken at home.

Now, Michael Bublé and Michael J. Fox aren't the only notable figures in Burnaby. Over the past year I have been inspired by our own local heros: Kyla Barnes of SFU's Young New Democrats, Wanda Mulholland of Burnaby Taskforce on Homelessness, Dr. Abdul Afridi of al-Salaam mosque, Delores Meyer of Montecito community, just to name a few.

We also have several groups making real differences in people's lives, like our amazing Burnaby Fire Fighters, Burnaby North Road Business Improvement Association, Burnaby Family Life, Burnaby Empty Bowls and parent participation preschools.

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It truly does take a community, an army of people, to come together to raise a politician. I am here today thanks to the hundreds of supporters like Lil Cameron, Gary Wong, Al Warner, Jason Hjarmarson, Angela Liu, Trevor Ritchie, Mark Hosak, Duc Tran, Jack Duncan, Paul Dyson, Jennifer Bancroft, Alex Ng, Craig Langston, Kelly Quinn, Rajinder Pandher, Eunice Oh, Sophia Bae, Anthony Soo, Byung Jin Na, Hannah Kang. The list just goes on. Many, many people have come together to contribute generously and knocked on hundreds of doors, rain or shine, with me.

In my face there are so many faces that you don't see. With me today are faces of my relatives in South Korea who started and finished their days in prayers for me. The faces of my students like Kel O'Neil, Naheeda Hossein, Parsa Kiani, Tanya Shearon and Su Yu cheered me on through all of the ups and downs on the campaign trail.

There are faces of my supporters, both in business and in the labour movement, who provided me with kindly advice and inspired me with their vision. There are faces of my incredible campaign team led by the brilliant Sage Aaron, my dedicated constituency association, led by the wise Glen Porter, and our exceptional NDP staff and candidates like Avtar Bains, Gabriel Yiu and Matt Toner, along with our caring members alongside me today.

There are faces of my distinguished colleagues at BCIT, Vancouver Community College and West Coast College, like Victoria Banham, Frank Cosco, Maria Wang, Dr. Mark Curry, Dr. Vesna Stajic, Greg Colombo, Joanne Larock and Dr. Bob Aitken.

There are faces of my dearest friends from all backgrounds and walks of life like Cathy Allen, Stanley Tsao, Cho Lim, Mike Sandhu and my dear Steven Su and his family.

Then there are faces of hundreds of our caring constituents who entertained me on my phone calls to them, invited me into their homes and offered me juice, gave me constructive feedback, confided in me their stories and shared a laugh and tears with me. I'm so honoured that the voters in Burnaby-Lougheed chose to place their
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confidence and hope in me, which I'm genuinely humbled and grateful for.

Lastly, there are faces of my parents, Dong Jae and Myung Bok Shin, and my brother, Jimmy Shin, who in their own rights think the world of me and have been so supportive.

This past year I had the privilege of sitting down with and listening to my neighbours, my colleagues, my friends in and out of this community. The struggles that our families fight today are very real. For all of these people I will be working to bring their voices and their issues forward.

We have before us a budget that can hurt too many people before it will benefit a few. We live in a stunning country, and all of us on both sides of the floor celebrated that fact on our nation's day with fellow Canadians across this nation, just this past Monday on Canada Day. I emigrated as a wide-eyed child from South Korea, holding my parents' hands. The reasons were crystal-clear to my parents why they chose B.C. for our family.

I look forward to working with all of you to make this a better home, a better province, not just for some of us but for all of us.

Hon. S. Thomson: Mr. Speaker, congratulations on the position. It's great to see you up there.

With continued spending discipline, we have balanced the budget. I'm proud to join my colleagues on this side of the House to say: "Promise made; promise delivered."

I'd like to begin, first of all, by recognizing those whose hard work and confidence helped get me here today. We were very fortunate to have a very dedicated and energetic and committed group of volunteers in Kelowna-Mission that helped me in the process and made sure we got to talk to voters in every corner of the riding.

Again, I'd also like to thank my family for their continued patience and unwavering support — my wife, Brenda; my son Spencer; my son Andrew; my daughter Alex; and five grandchildren, all who have been very, very patient and unwavering in their support.

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I think my son's patience may have run out a little bit as he left us this morning to do the London-to-Mongolia car rally — 19 countries, 10,000 miles, four of them on a team in a small Kia hatchback. Maybe the patience that I've taught him, that he's had with me being in this position over the last little, while will serve him well in that great adventure he's on, and I want to wish him safe travels and a great learning experience as he does that.

I also want to thank, again — as we all do — my constituency assistants, Nan and Jennifer at the constituency office. They always do a great job on behalf of all of the constituents of Kelowna-Mission, and they are very excited and looking forward to continuing in that role for us.

Most importantly, I want to thank the constituents of Kelowna-Mission for electing me as their representative and for putting their confidence in me, putting their confidence in our team in the Okanagan — the B.C. Liberal team — and our vision for a strong economy and a secure tomorrow. It's absolutely humbling and a real honour for me to be able to represent all of them.

It's an honour that we all take very, very seriously as we take this position. We understand the importance of elected responsibilities and public service, and I really do appreciate their support. Again, I'm very, very humbled to be in this position.

We have a great riding in a beautiful part of the province. I was born and raised in this riding, and I look forward to working on behalf of all of the riding to ensure that it remains a great place to live, to work and to raise our families.

I'm also very proud, on this side of the House, to lead a ministry, Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. It's going to play a key role in the future economic development of the province, a key role in the environmental sustainability of the province as we continue to work to ensure that we move forward on key projects, that we continue to support resource and economic development industries in this province through our approach in an integrated decision-making process, providing that streamlined process in getting to approval of key projects in the province that will help us achieve the budget goals.

The Minister of Finance has laid out a responsible plan that's going to drive our province forward over the next three years. It's a plan that we can be proud of, knowing that we've invested in key services, including a $2.4 billion increase over three years in health care spending, while we continue to pay our bills — a plan that has required, as everybody knows, very difficult decisions. There's no denying that. It's important to recognize the economic times that we live in.

We've emerged from one of the most difficult economic recessionary periods in our lifetime, and the uncertainty remains. Despite all of this, we remain one of the few jurisdictions in Canada with a triple-A credit rating. We have sustained a climate that attracts investment, that creates jobs for B.C. families. That's a record we can be proud of, and now it's more important than ever that we continue to spend responsibly.

The budget sets out a three-year fiscal plan that maintains balanced budgets and controlled spending while continuing to make strategic investments in key programs and initiatives, including our jobs plan to drive growth in the province.

These are investments in our future, and they're designed to allow B.C. to capitalize today and in the long term on our many strategic advantages, including the once-in-a-generation opportunity in liquefied natural gas. This opportunity will generate millions and millions in economic activity over 30 years and more than $200 billion in revenue. As committed in the throne speech,
[ Page 109 ]
it's our plan to take that investment into a prosperity fund that will be utilized to move the province forward over time and to eliminate our debt.

We have many reasons to be optimistic we will succeed. As Canada's Pacific gateway, we have exceptional success in Asia. Asian countries now buy over 40 percent of B.C. exports. Exports to China were up nearly 20 percent in 2012, and while the share of exports going to India is small today, it increased by nearly 60 percent in 2012. So there are tremendous opportunities in the Asia-Pacific, and our plan and our focus will be to continue to expand on those opportunities and take advantage of those opportunities.

We've made important progress in British Columbia over the past year. The tremendous opportunity we have in liquid natural gas will create thousands of B.C. jobs and bring billions of dollars in new investment, and by continuing to keep our focus, this is an objective we can achieve.

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With the recession, our government made responsible decisions to control spending. We've had to make tough decisions. Those were not easy decisions, but they were necessary. We continue to keep taxes at a fair and reasonable level, with B.C. families enjoying among the lowest overall tax burdens in our country. We have the lowest personal income taxes for individuals that earn up to $122,000 a year, and Budget 2013 will allow us to continue to direct funding towards key programs and capital projects that benefit our communities, not only for today but for future generations.

We're very fortunate in my riding in Kelowna-Mission and in the Central Okanagan and Kelowna to see the direct results of this strategy and this investment by looking at our investments in health care, education, transportation and agriculture in the Okanagan. As we know, we have had very, very significant investments in health care, with investments at KGH in cardiac care.

We've had investments in Okanagan College, investments in UBC Okanagan and investments in our school district — school district 23 — that have allowed us to complete 13 construction projects in school district 23, including a new school, Chute Lake Elementary in my riding.

We have a high-priority item in the school district capital plan for an additional middle school in the upper Mission in my riding, the number two priority for school district 23, and we will be continuing to work with the Ministry of Education on that priority as they have secured the site for it. It's part of the longer-term capital plan, but it reflects the continuing growth in our riding and the continuing growth in Kelowna.

With Budget 2013, we're implementing the one-time B.C. training and education savings grant, which will, effective immediately, benefit every qualifying B.C. family with a child under seven. Under this program, when a child turns six and begins his or her elementary school education, the provincial government will transfer $1,200 to the family. This funding will help cover the costs of academic studies and skills training at the post-secondary level.

We're continuing to support education and skills training by investing in the key trades training facilities at post-secondary education institutions, such as the $28 million that was invested at Okanagan College to expand and improve trade training facilities there. Just last week over a thousand graduates received diplomas from Okanagan College's Kelowna campus. We will continue to invest in skills training for programs, keeping jobs in our community.

Over 500 of those Okanagan College graduates received diplomas and certificates in trades, going on to take quality jobs in some of the fastest-growing sectors in our province. And our plan commits to bringing forward a comprehensive skills training plan, which will be developed to support trades skills training and to encourage graduates to pursue advanced education in high-demand sectors.

We know that by 2020 there will be approximately one million job openings in our province, and investments like this, the investments that we made at Okanagan College and across the province, will ensure that B.C. children can fill these well-paying, skilled jobs and continue to drive our economy.

As I said, I'm honoured to represent one of the most beautiful regions in our province. We welcome visitors to the Okanagan from all over the province, from all over Canada and international visitors. They come to the Okanagan to share everything that our region has to offer. It's gone well beyond what we were traditionally known for in terms of peaches and beaches with the growing wine tourism sector, culinary tourism, culture, recreation opportunities and all sorts of great assets in our communities.

The economy in our region benefits from all of these assets in our communities. This is a benefit to our riding and the entire province. Our tourism associations, Tourism Kelowna and the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, look forward to continuing to work with Destination B.C. to make sure that we can continue to grow our tourism sector in the Okanagan, achieving economic activity and more jobs.

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I've talked about the health care investments in our region. I think it's very, very important to point out that this is an investment that is not just for Kelowna. This is an investment for the total region. We've had so many personal experiences of people who have benefited from the enhancements in cardiac surgery in the Okanagan. I've met with many of them, who've talked about what it means to them and their families to be able to have this surgery done right in the Okanagan.
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The other critical issues for our area that we continue to work on…. Obviously, water infrastructure — investments in the future — is going to continue to be a critical issue for the Okanagan.

We have tremendous opportunity in the technology sector. There is great work being done by Accelerate Okanagan, tremendous work building a cluster of success in the technology sector, building jobs — all very quiet, but building that centre of excellence in the Okanagan. We look forward to continuing to work with all of the companies through Accelerate Okanagan to achieve their objectives.

In conclusion, this budget suits the needs of our province and the current economic climate. It's a budget that's prudent. It's responsible, and it's balanced. The easy way out would have been to run a deficit. It's a lot easier to make promises for short-term benefits, but I believe we cannot ignore the future. We must ensure that our economy continues to grow and British Columbians continue to prosper.

I look forward to working in the ministry and with all of the members on this side of the House to make sure that we can continue to grow our economy, create jobs and make sure that we have that climate for investment here in the province. I'm proud to stand and support Budget 2013.

M. Karagianis: I am very happy to stand and take my place in this debate on the budget — the new, revised Budget 2013.

First of all, let me add my congratulations to all members who are returning here to the House, to the Legislature, and especially a welcome to the new members. I know that for all of you, it's a very exciting moment to take your place here in the chambers. It is an awesome place to stand up for your community, to take your place here in the debates.

I know for those seven new members that we welcomed here to our side of the House, it's been invigorating to have them here. It has actually renewed my sense of excitement about the work we do here. So congratulations to everyone on coming here to represent your communities.

I'd like to speak to the budget, but first I'd like to just take a moment to thank all of those who worked very hard to send me to this place once again. I would like to call out a special thanks to Jared Butcher, who ran my campaign, and to a stellar group of volunteers. I had hundreds of volunteers, many of them young people, very enthusiastic, who worked very hard to make sure I returned here to the Legislature.

I'd like to especially thank the Barrett family. People in the chamber will know of my close attachment to Dave Barrett's family. In fact, I had many of them working on my campaign once again, so a special thanks to Dan and his children, Andrew and Hannah, and to his wife; and to the indomitable Shirley Barrett, who also came out and worked on the campaign as she has for many, many years. A special thanks to them. It has always been a great privilege to have them on my team and to have them support me and to once again help me get re-elected.

I would also like to say to all of those volunteers a huge thank-you. I sent out hundreds and hundreds of thank-you cards. But, in person, I'd like to say how very grateful I am to everyone who helped on my campaign.

I'd like to also thank my family, especially four-year-old Maxine, who during the campaign would ride around with her mother and frequently roll the window down and yell out: "Vote for my grandma. Vote for my grandma."

So for all of those people who understood what that meant, thank you if Maxine had some influence on you. She was here in the House when I was being sworn in. Our previous Speaker, Bill Barisoff, was very kind to point them out. She was very enthusiastic about watching me get sworn in as well. So at the age of four, she's now engaged in the political system and, hopefully, will be a lifelong New Democrat, lifelong voter once she reaches the age that she can vote.

I'd also like to thank my husband, who is always there — stable, kind, reliable, does all kinds of dirty jobs on the campaign, and does all kinds of dirty jobs while I'm here. Somebody has got to be home washing the dishes, looking after the dogs and doing all of that good work, so a special thanks to him as well.

[1635]

To Jayne Ducker and Andrew Barrett, who run my constituency office, again a huge thanks. Your hard work over the last number of years has allowed me to stay in touch with my community, to do work here in the Legislature as well as stay in touch with my constituency.

Of course, most of all, to the constituents of Esquimalt–Royal Roads, to the community of Vic West, to Esquimalt, to View Royal and to Colwood, a huge thanks for once again returning me here to this House. This is my third term representing this community, and I am so very honoured and grateful to be doing that.

I find myself now embarking on my 17th year in politics, much to my surprise. I know I've talked about it in the House before, but it is something that I truly love and feel honoured to be able to do.

In speaking to the budget and looking at the budget, I will have a number of roles that I'll play in the coming years here as a critic. So I look forward to the work that's been given to me by our leader to look at women's issues, to look at child care and early learning, and, although it may not seem to fit very well, I also have shipbuilding. But I'll talk about that in a few minutes. In fact, there is some continuity to that, but there's definitely a strong connection between me and that critic role.

I was listening with great fascination to the Minister of Children and Families talking about some of the prom-
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ises for things like child care in the coming months and years. I'll be really watching that very closely, because I know that child care is something important to every family in this province. If we are going to talk at all about jobs in the future, child care is pretty critical to families who want to take part in the workforce — not just women, but women and men alike who want to take their place in the workforce and be able to support their families.

I know that for my own children, my son has played the role of a primary caregiver for many years while his wife has gone back to work. He is just now returning to the workforce. Child care is really important to them and allows them the ability to go out and participate in the economy, so I'm going to be really devoting some serious attention to that and, of course, early childhood development, early learning.

As far as women's issues, you know, these are issues that I have fought my entire life for, to make sure that women are protected. There are issues still in this province with domestic violence that have not been resolved. I'm going to be watching very closely to see whether the government is going to make good on some promises they made in the past session but have not, in fact, delivered on. The issues around domestic violence I think should be a concern to everyone and in particular will be a focus as I go forward in my critic role.

Also, the exploitation of women is something that I feel very passionate about. So those parts of my critic portfolio I'm going to be paying special attention to.

We get to the part about shipbuilding. I actually want to say there's a bit of a connection. Shipbuilding, of course, is happening in my community, in the heart of my community. It's a very essential part of the economy of the south Island here. We have been waiting for the uptake in the national procurement of new shipbuilding here to really have an effect here. We're currently doing and building lots of sustainable jobs down in the shipyards.

I'd like to see more women be able to take their place in those jobs as well, in non-traditional roles down there. I have a cousin who is just very soon to retire as a welder. She's worked at the shipyards for many years and is now just retiring. But still, there are far too few women that are down there taking those good, family-supporting jobs as welders, electricians and painters. I really want to see more women be able to enter the workforce.

It concerns me greatly that when I look at the current budget being proposed by the B.C. Liberals, I see that the $45 million cuts to skills training are still there, in place. One of the things that did not get amended in the budget is putting enough money into skills training. I know from firsthand experience down looking at the shipyards how very, very critical skills training is to the future of the shipbuilding trade. Certainly for women being able to enter the workforce at that level, it's going to be very important.

Hon. Speaker, I am concerned that many of the outfalls of this budget are going to have some huge consequential effects to the communities that I care about here in my constituency, to those that I care about that are captured in my critic's portfolio.

[1640]

The budget that we identified as being bogus leading into the last election, even in its amended form, still has huge holes that say that this is not a balanced budget. It's not sustainable. We're still looking at selling off public assets in order to balance the budget, and that concerns me a lot because these are one-offs where we would sell public assets that we will never again, then, be able to use for the public good.

In fact, many of these public assets could be used at a time when we are still facing huge crises in poverty, in housing, in homelessness. We could be using some of these public lands for the good of all for a long-term investment in housing and support systems for those that need it in our community rather than selling them off to balance a budget for a quick fix by this government. I will be very concerned as I watch the government squander away assets that could be better used for the long-term good of the future.

I heard the Minister of Forests and Lands there talk about the government making responsible decisions in this budget, and I would have to say that, you know, looking at one of the very first acts that Christy Clark undertook as Premier was to give fat pay raises to her political staff…. She was then forced to claw that back because she's in the midst of a by-election, and you don't win by-elections by showing your cards too early on payouts for politicals.

At the same time, we saw that seniors are being charged for wheelchairs, and that signalled to me that we can once again see that the B.C. Liberal priorities are exactly the same now as they have been for the last number of years. They have not changed at all. The priorities are not for seniors or for the most vulnerable. It's not about investing in housing and things that we need to resolve some of the social issues. It's about making sure that our political staff are well paid and that we take care of ourselves first and foremost.

I'm quite concerned about the consequences of core review. You know, when you look at the results of what happened from the last core review, we have still not managed to recover. Social programs have not managed to recover from the first core review undertaken by Gordon Campbell in 2001.

The government is looking for $130 million, apparently not out of the paycheques of political staffers but somewhere deep within the review. They're going to be looking at more cuts, either more taxes levied on seniors, like the wheelchair tax, or mental health programs cut, like the recent arts program that was cut in the Lower Mainland. That concerns me very much about the effect
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it will have on those people in my community that are the most vulnerable.

In fact, my community is full of people who work very hard, often two full-time incomes coming in to barely make it from paycheque to paycheque. Whenever services are cut, those people are affected first and foremost. When fees go up, those are the families that are affected first and foremost, and it makes it more difficult for them. They struggle more and more each day as this government implements their wrong priorities again and again, like we've seen with the pay raises versus the wheelchairs.

Recently, in the campaign, I ran into a young fellow that is on a PWD income, persons with disabilities income. He talked to me about the volunteer stipend that we've been discussing here in the House today. He talked to me about the fact that that is no longer available, and he finds himself in the position of having to live on 75 cents a day for food. He has to have a good shelter, someplace to live that's affordable, that's clean, that's reliable. He said he tried to move into cheaper housing, but the hydro rates were so high that it was costing him more in electricity to stay warm than a slightly more expensive apartment.

He is living on 75 cents a day to feed himself, and it seems to me that in the 21st century of British Columbia, as we embark on Budget 2013, that individual's needs are not being met now and will not be met in the future. A core review that in any way jeopardizes any other stability and program supports for him is going to have tragic results, because his next step, then, is to end up on the street and homeless and become a different kind of burden for all of us to try and resolve.

[1645]

The jobs plan that the B.C. Liberals have implemented, as we have seen our Finance critic outline very clearly, has been a huge disappointment. It has been unsuccessful. It has been a failure. Those are real jobs in communities like mine. Those are not imaginary jobs someplace. When you lose 31,000 jobs out of the economy, that affects communities like mine. That gives me grave concern. If we're going to continue to see this downward spiral, the constituents that I care so deeply about and that I stand in this Legislature to speak out for are going to be very adversely hurt by those job losses.

The jobs that have replaced many of those family-supporting jobs have been minimum-pay jobs, low-paying jobs, so that families, again, are stretched further and further and further. When we see things like the B.C. Hydro cost overruns and we know that hydro rates are going to go up, that the taxpayers of this province are going to pay those rates…. We're going to pay for the government's inability to get a grip on managing B.C. Hydro, the huge debt that they have run up with the deferral accounts.

Now the enormous cost overruns on the northwest transmission line will be paid by people like those who live in my community, like that fellow who is living on 75 cents a day. That is unfair. Through their own mismanagement, the B.C. Liberals are going to be causing more and more grief for the most vulnerable in my community.

I am concerned when I see the economy continuing to slow down. We continue to hear this robust and false enthusiasm from the other side of the House about how grandiose this budget is and how it's going to cure the ills of the world. LNG and its trillions of dollars sometime in the future are going to save us all from debt.

The reality is that when the real GDP growth drops, when employment numbers begin to fall, when retail sales continue to stagnate, that hurts the people in my community. That hurts those who are just managing to eke it out from day to day. I don't see how this budget represents them. Every single item that this government talks about on how they're going to reduce debt while they're running up billions more in the debt…. Premier Clark has had deficit targets that were missed by a billion dollars.

When I see a government that is purporting to have a balanced budget…. You can see all the evidence here that we are in a continued slump, that we continue to see stagnant growth here in this province. We continue to see jobs leaving this province, individuals leaving this province. That hurts those most vulnerable who cannot pack up and leave, who are eking it out from paycheque to paycheque. Many of those people live in my community, and I'm very proud to stand in this House, to stand up for them and make sure that their voices are heard.

I will be opposing this budget because I have no confidence whatsoever in many of the things that the government is making claims to here. I think that the budget is bogus. I think it's false. I don't think it's going to be balanced. I think the coming quarters are going to show us that. We'll have lots of time in this House to talk about it. I'll continue to stand up for my community and fight for their rights in the face of a government that is going to continue off-loading their mistakes onto the backs of the most vulnerable.

D. Barnett: It is indeed an honour to be here today, speaking before this great House. I am here to speak in support of our government's budget.

I was thrilled that the people of the Cariboo-Chilcotin chose me as their voice in the provincial Legislature for the second time. I would like to thank my campaign team. Over 200 volunteers stood up in the Cariboo-Chilcotin to make sure that they had a strong voice in Victoria.

As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations for rural development, I will continue to be a voice for rural B.C. As a resident of one of the most beautiful places in British Columbia, the Cariboo-Chilcotin, the interests of rural communities have always been important to me. Rural
[ Page 113 ]
British Columbians are generous, hard-working people with a pioneer spirit. Whether they're ranchers, miners, teachers, doctors, nurses, tourism operators, retirees, grandmas, parents or citizens, they are independent and proud.

[1650]

It is the rural parts of British Columbia that give our province its unique character. While many of the MLAs that are in this House represent urban ridings in the Lower Mainland or south Island, it is important to remember the regions that make up the majority of our province. That is why I work to be a voice for rural British Columbians. That is also why I'm here to speak in support of our government's budget.

Rural British Columbians understand the importance of fiscal responsibility and of leaving a legacy for our children. The pioneers who first came to the Cariboo-Chilcotin understood this, and generation after generation they have worked to provide a future for their children. They knew that it would be irresponsible to spend more than they earned from their hard work. They valued fiscal responsibility, and so does this government. That is why I'm pleased to see our Finance Minister present a balanced budget.

By spending responsibly, we can maintain our quality of life not just for our generation but also for those that come after us. This means we can maintain our triple-A credit rating so that when we need to borrow money, we can do so at reasonable rates. It also means making sure that our government is efficient and that taxpayers' money is spent in the best way possible. It also means making wise investments. For rural British Columbians, that means investments in the industries that drive our economy.

Forestry is an important part of our rural economy. It is an industry that has been affected by factors we could not predict, such as the pine beetle epidemic and the housing crash in the United States. However, it is a resilient industry, and with the B.C. jobs plan, forest sector strategy and increasing exports to Asia, forestry will continue to be an important driver of our provincial economy.

There are mines in the Cariboo-Chilcotin that are so important to the economy of British Columbia, and there are new ones on the horizon. We have a vibrant and resilient tourism industry that has suffered since the recession, but it is on the rebound.

Another important industry is ranching and farming. Ranching and farming have a long tradition in my riding of the Cariboo-Chilcotin, with a rich cowboy history. With some wise investments by our government, ranching and farming will continue to thrive. The coloured fuel tax exemption for farmers will allow our farmers and cattlemen to continue providing quality locally grown food to B.C. families. Incentives to buy local will benefit both consumers and farmers.

These are all wise investments in our rural economy, yet the wisest investment of all, Mr. Speaker, is an investment in our children. Making sure our children are better off is the reason our government is bringing in measures like the B.C. childhood tax benefit and the B.C. training and education savings grant.

Through the B.C. childhood tax benefit, thousands of B.C. families will get a refundable tax credit of up to $660 a year per child under the age of six. About 90 percent of families with young children will be eligible, so this is really a great benefit for many families.

Higher education and trades training are also an investment in the future, and it is important that our children have the option of doing this type of training when they finish high school. To help offset the costs, our government is bringing in the B.C. training and education savings grant. All B.C. children who were born from 2007 on are entitled to receive this $1,200 grant to help them save for post-secondary training or education.

All they need to do is have a registered education savings plan in their name set up before they turn seven. This money will help them later on in life. With a small investment of $50 a month, combined with federal grants, a child will have $12,000 waiting for them by the time they turn 18. This is a fantastic investment, and there is nothing more worthwhile than helping the next generation get a strong start.

[1655]

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today in support of the budget. I am confident that if we continue to move forward with the focus on fiscal responsibility and wise investments, we will accomplish a great deal over the next four years. With a balanced budget, we are off to a great start. I look forward to seeing the end result.

Deputy Speaker: Member for Surrey-Whalley.

B. Ralston: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and congratulations on assuming your post as Assistant Deputy Speaker.

I want to begin by thanking the electors of Surrey-Whalley and all those who voted for participating and for expressing their confidence in me in returning me to this chamber once again.

I'd also, like other members, like to acknowledge my campaign team. I'm only going to mention the two leaders of the campaign: my campaign chair, Sharon Goldberg, and my campaign manager, Rachid Arab. But obviously, there were many, many volunteers working in the campaign. No campaign can be successful without that kind of support, and I'm very grateful to them.

I want to talk just briefly about some local issues. I represent Surrey-Whalley, in which is contained the growing and vibrant city centre, really the second metropolitan area in the Lower Mainland and, increasingly, the urban centre of the Fraser Valley as it's contemplated in planning terms.
[ Page 114 ]

It's been a long time in coming. I was back on the city council in Surrey many years ago. I know there are others here today in the chamber who are familiar with the history of planning that city centre in Surrey. But one of the signal events was the decision to locate a post-secondary institution in Surrey. It began at a grassroots community level, taken over by one government who established a university there, and then transformed later into Simon Fraser University. It's the only research university in the province that is seeking to grow its undergraduate spaces.

Now importantly, the government made a commitment some time ago to grow the number of full-time spaces at the Surrey campus of Simon Fraser University to 5,000. That's something that, certainly, the president before, President Stevenson, and the present president, President Petter, both repeatedly remind the MLAs who represent the Surrey area, and I know they certainly make their views known to successive Ministers of Advanced Education.

As of yet, the government has failed to follow through on its commitment. They're very gentle about it. I'm hoping to be a persistent reminder of the new Minister of Advanced Education of this commitment. I'm optimistic, because I know that he represents a Surrey riding and will see the obvious logic of the argument, and the obvious dynamism and growth in post-secondary education in Surrey will be an important — I'm hoping — part of his obligations and his duties as the new Minister of Advanced Education.

But I want to turn now to the budget. I'm going to adopt as my coda the words of the member for Chilliwack. Now admittedly at the time that he said these words, he wasn't the member for Chilliwack. He was actually a Conservative candidate. But I think he summed up Liberal accomplishments very well when he said of the Liberals: "Theirs is a legacy of deceit, incompetence and financial mismanagement." March 28, 2012. A very, very accurate summary of the Liberal record, and it's continued in this budget.

I'm not sure if he still holds those views, but it will be interesting to talk to him after he spends a couple years in the Liberal caucus.

[1700]

Let's begin with some of the claims that have been made in the budget, starting with the jobs plan. The previous minister responsible for the jobs plan used to start the jobs plan, or liked to start the jobs plan, in August of 2011 because there was a statistical blip in August. There were 25,000 jobs created in that month, and it was good for the numbers going forward. Unfortunately for him and for the truth of the situation, the jobs plan was only announced in the following month, September 2011, and eventually even he had to give up that misleading and incorrect dating of the beginning of the jobs plan.

But clearly, as our Finance critic has pointed out, private sector job growth in British Columbia since the jobs plan was announced has been minus 31,300 jobs. That's the proper measure. We will hear and we often hear lectures and finger-wagging and sloganeering on the other side about job growth, but that's the reality. That's the StatsCan reality, that's the accurate number, and that's a real measure of the complete and utter failure of the jobs plan.

No doubt it created some jobs in the public relations industry, and that's a good point, I suppose. But in terms of its impact upon the British Columbia economy, very negligible and, in fact, it led to real private sector job losses.

You can contrast that with other jurisdictions across the country. Perhaps a bit unfair to contrast ourselves with Alberta, but that's certainly the next jurisdiction over, and that's increasingly one to which British Columbians are fleeing. In fact, interprovincial migration since Christy Clark became the Premier is negative — minus 10,388 people who've left the province heading for Alberta and other places east.

This used to be part of the Liberal rhetoric about the 1990s. Now that it's the reality once again under their watch, suddenly, I think, the Premier dismissed it as something that was no longer relevant. So one rule for the B.C. Liberals and one rule for the rest of us, I suppose, but that's hardly surprising. Certainly, the jobs plan is a complete failure, notwithstanding all the rhetorical support it gets and continues to get in speeches of both experienced and new B.C. Liberal MLAs.

Looking at other parts of the budget, the numbers for the economy in the sense of forward-looking measures of likely economic growth are negative, and there are some very disturbing trends in the projections. As B.C. Liberals will tell you, these budgets are prepared on data provided by public servants, and there has been no political treatment of them.

Retail sales growth once, in the budget in February, was projected to be 3.5 percent; now projected to be 1.8 percent. Now, that is growth, but that's a very significant decline in the retail sales sector. Retail sales are really the economic pulse of a regional economy such as British Columbia's, so that's a very disturbing and troubling number for all of us — not just for the government but for all of us.

When one looks realistically at the budget and tries to push away the rhetoric, that's something worth, I think, worrying about. It gives rise to a certain skepticism about revenue projections that tend to follow in concert with retail sales growth, most obviously the provincial sales tax driven by the retail sales, naturally. So some of the projections of revenue growth based on a retail sales growth revised downwards are troubling.

Employment growth — 0.7 percent, down from 1.1 percent. B.C. housing starts — again a decline of 13.3 percent, down from a decline projected of 10.1 percent.

[1705]

New housing starts are an engine of local economies. Certainly in Surrey, where I live, and in the riding I represent, residential housing construction is an important economic engine and really a measure of economic health, and it employs a number of people and all kinds of ancillary trades and professions that rely upon retail housing construction. So it's troubling to see retail sales projections falling and retail housing starts declining as well. That's very troubling indeed.

Housing starts are so important because, unlike many other economic activities in the economy, they can't be outsourced. If you're going to build a house, you're going to build it here, perhaps with the notable exception of portable homes. But for the most part, it's a very powerful job generator and has a very powerful multiplier effect because of its impact on the local economy. Contrary to the rhetoric that we hear, the figures that are in the budget speak otherwise.

I'll get to the suggestion that the budget is somehow balanced. It's not, of course, by any measure. The record of the B.C. Liberals on deficits: seven deficit budgets from 2001 to 2012. Deficit targets have been missed in dramatic fashion, notwithstanding the so-called balanced-budget law. It has been repeatedly broken, requiring the minister to slink into the House and seek an amendment to relieve them from the strictures of the balanced-budget law as it impacts the ministerial operations. So it's an unrealistic plan, an unrealistic budget.

It's premised in terms of its cuts to health care…. The rate of increase of health care…. Obviously, in any budget it's important, and particularly a provincial budget, to seek to control health care spending. But the projection for the rate of increase in this particular document is completely unrealistic and will be very difficult, if not impossible, to attain without undisclosed measures which have not yet been publicized, which will involve lengthy waiting periods, surgery cancellations and other measures like that.

These measures are already reverberating through the health authorities, and the health authorities won't get their budgets and their budget numbers till around about now. The cuts that will reverberate and cascade down through the system will take place fairly shortly.

British Columbians are paying more in fees. One looks at MSP premiums, B.C. Hydro rates. Perhaps if I could turn once again to the member for Chilliwack, who provides another helpful quote. I want to quote from a Conservative press release: "Everything costs more under this Liberal government — medical premiums, ICBC, B.C. Hydro, carbon tax, gas tax. The list goes on and on. It just doesn't end. The only people getting ahead in Christy Clark's British Columbia are cronies, insiders and lobbyists." Very well put.

We'll see as this session moves on and as the new government settles in just how prophetic those words of the member for Chilliwack uttered in a news release on January 25, 2012, are in terms of the activities of this government.

[1710]

But certainly, those fee increases impact real people, people who live in my riding, where the median income is below the average provincial income. Those will be tough. That's why people got exercised about the HST. That's why people get exercised about the prospect — the certain prospect — of an increase in B.C. Hydro rates. That impacts them and their family budgets where real median income has stayed flat. And in many sectors, both private and public, there isn't the prospect of wage increases any time soon.

Looking further at the fire sale of assets, it's interesting to note and to look at assets. That's why one really just has to scoff at the idea that the budget is balanced. You can't make one-time sales of assets which don't repeat themselves and claim that you're budgeting in a sustainable way. You get a one-time bump to the bottom line. It is revenue one time, but the next year it's gone, unless you find an alternate source.

To suggest that that is somehow a realistic or sustainable way of balancing a budget over a three-year fiscal plan is simply not accurate. All the repeating of the claim that it's a balanced budget doesn't really make it so, notwithstanding the rhetorical efforts of those on the other side.

So we'll see. I think it was interesting today that the member for Fort Langley–Aldergrove appeared to disclose in question period that the lands in Coquitlam mentioned by the member for Coquitlam-Maillardville are not on the list of 100 properties.

The list of 100 properties that has been talked about for over a year and a half now has never been revealed in full publicly, and I follow these things fairly closely. The minister might wish to disabuse the House if that's the case. I think what he was saying was that he's seen the list, of course, and it's not on there. But the list has never been disclosed publicly, so it would be helpful. I'm sure the member for Coquitlam-Maillardville and her constituents would appreciate that assurance.

Let me look further at the approach of the government. We hear self-congratulatory statements about effective financial management, although the member for Chilliwack, back in 2012, certainly didn't seem to think that, speaking of incompetence and financial mismanagement. His words really resonate when one looks at some of the record of recent projects going over their budget in dramatic fashion, whether it's the B.C. Place roof, 41 percent over budget; Vancouver Convention Centre, 68 percent; Port Mann/Highway 1, 120 percent; South Fraser perimeter road, 58 percent.

There is value in spending money on infrastructure, obviously. But on the other hand, from the point of view of effective public administration, you want to be able to manage a project in a way that doesn't waste taxpay-
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ers' money nor overrun the resources of the taxpayers to pay for it.

This kind of systemic and chronic mismanagement of capital projects is endemic to this government. I'm glad that I have…. At least, I had the support of the member for Chilliwack back in March of 2012, which leads me now to make some brief comments on the debt.

This is really the biggest lie that Christy Clark told in the election — repeatedly lied about it. "Debt-Free British Columbia." Well, the provincial debt, under her….

Interjection.

Deputy Speaker: Member, you're not supposed to use that word in the House. Please withdraw that word.

B. Ralston: Well, I'm not permitted to use it in relation to an hon. member. The Premier is not an hon. member of this House.

[1715]

Deputy Speaker: Member, whether the Premier has a seat or not here, you still cannot use that word in the House, so please withdraw.

B. Ralston: Well, in that case, given your ruling, Mr. Speaker, I withdraw.

Clearly, the representation that was made that British Columbia is debt-free is simply not accurate at all. If one looks at the rate of increase of debt here in British Columbia since Christy Clark became the Premier, it's the most dramatic increase in the public debt of the province in its history. So to make that kind of claim publicly, to persist in that kind of claim and to have it repeated here is quite astonishing. It's really a triumph of sleight of hand over reality.

The numbers are there. They're in the budget document itself. Any member who's making a speech can clearly have a look at the projected debt, and it's certainly not going down.

The rhetoric that's used is that a road map for the creation of a debt-free British Columbia is being created. There's no road map at all. There's simply a projection of increased debt over the next number of years. So I look forward to further detail.

It's difficult, in a resource economy such as ours, to make those kinds of projections of future revenue, particularly based on commodity prices that are set in the global marketplace. If one looks at mining, for example, there is, has been in recent years, a lot of mining activity. That's in part because prices have been near the peak of what people in the industry and traders call a resource supercycle. But in the last year the respective prices of commodities have fallen dramatically.

I'm quoting from a Financial Times article last week, Thursday, June 27: "Most commodity prices have already fallen dramatically. Since their respective peaks in 2011 copper prices are down 35 percent, iron ore prices have fallen 40 percent and gold has tumbled 36 percent." That has an impact, and a very direct impact. That's not the fault of the mining operators. That's simply a result of market conditions. But that's the downside of a resource economy.

We only need to look at an article last week in the Kamloops Daily News. Treasure Mountain mine, outside Merritt, has been forced to suspend operations. It's a promising silver mine. The quote from their notice to investors: "The company continues to have a working capital deficiency…. Given currently depressed silver prices, it will be required to complete its previously announced financing of up to $5 million in order to continue its operation in the normal course and may require additional debt or equity in the future."

Now, that was one of the mines that was hoped for and was in the government's goal of eight new mines. Certainly, those are goals worth having, in the sense of contemplating opening new mines, but given the decline in prices, there's very little the government can do.

That is the difficulty in basing an economic strategy, particularly most of the jobs plan, on resource industries. It's good when the prices are going up or expanding, and it becomes increasingly much more difficult when they decline.

So the argument about LNG is a difficult one, given the global cycle of prices in LNG. LNG has decoupled from the price of oil, and there are many, many competitors in the global LNG market. We will see. I'm optimistic that in the long run British Columbia will be able to profitably develop at least some of the proposed LNG facilities, but given the global resource cycle of prices, it may not be possible and certainly not on any political timetable. So that makes it very difficult.

[1720]

It's also worth noting that, as the deputy minister says in his budget note, required under the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act: "The fiscal plan assumes no explicit economic activity or incremental resource revenue from liquefied natural gas development in the province."

So it's not even contemplated by the deputy minister, not only in this budget, but in the three-year fiscal plan. No revenue at all. So really, the projection that's talked about — was talked about and continues to be talked about — is fanciful, wishful thinking at best. It's best, I think, to be more realistic about it.

Certainly, there are prospects. Certainly, there are global economies who make those kinds of decisions and have the resources to make them, but there's nothing that any individual government can do to change the global market for LNG. It will really depend on the market price in the long run for LNG.

The budget is really a continuation of the one that
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was tabled in February 2013 but with more realistic and tempered economic growth projections across the board, which make it even more unlikely that the government will achieve its so-called balanced budget. Clearly, this isn't the budget that people in British Columbia were hoping for, in the sense that it will not have the effect on the economy that's described.

In fact, the only optimistic ray of sunshine I see in what the government has done is that they have recognized that the technology industry is sufficiently important in British Columbia. Although a very minor part in the so-called jobs plan, and a very late addition to the jobs plan, it's now been given a separate ministry and a minister to deal with the challenges there. Certainly, the British Columbia technology association in its paper speaks of the strength of the technology industry here in British Columbia, and there are a number of recommendations that they bring forward.

Certainly, the last Minister of Jobs wasn't, according to a number of meetings I had, very inspired or interested in the technology industry. But there is optimism, I think, in the change and the shift that the government seems to have made in recognizing the economic potential of the technology industry.

Now, there are a number of proposals that have been put forward, some of which we put forward in the election campaign. But certainly, there are deficiencies in venture capital. The angel tax credit probably needs to be reviewed and revised. There are issues in the provincial nominee program about attracting certain highly skilled technology professionals for very targeted jobs in certain technology companies.

We suggested a procurement policy for B.C. companies in the sense that many American states have what they call a set-aside strategy where individual companies have the opportunity to sell a prototype of their invention or product to a government. That gives them increased marketing strength, because if your government is prepared to take you on, other prospective customers are sometimes encouraged by that.

Given the opportunities in technology across…. Whether it's life sciences, clean tech, digital media, wireless, ICT — all of those things have huge potential in a highly educated and literate society. That's why it's so important, I think, to focus on that as opposed to limiting our focus to natural resource industries. So we'll see what the new minister and the new ministry do. But certainly, that's something that I will be watching — among others, I'm sure — in the future.

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I note that my time is drawing to a close. I wish to conclude my remarks by saying that this budget comes nowhere near achieving the goals that it sets out. For that reason, I will join my colleagues in opposing it when the time comes.

L. Reimer: It gives me great pleasure to rise in the House today and offer my support for Budget 2013. As it's my first time speaking in the House, I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly recognize everyone who made it possible for me to be here.

Firstly, I'd like to thank my family. As MLAs, we are required to work long hours and be away from home for extended periods of time. For every member here, I don't think it would be possible to do this job without the support, encouragement and understanding of our families.

I would like to thank my core campaign team, led by my manager Patrick O'Connor. We were a small team but mighty in spirit. I would also like to thank the many volunteers who door-knocked with me for months and months prior to the election. I was so pleased to see many young people engaged in my campaign, as they will be the leaders of our future.

I would also like to thank those who had enormous faith that this seat, known as Port Moody–Coquitlam, could be won. I'd also like to say what an honour it is to serve my riding of Port Moody–Coquitlam, which also includes the beautiful villages of Anmore and Belcarra.

It's a privilege to work for my constituents. I want to thank them for providing me the opportunity to represent them, and I look forward to working together to ensure that we make a great community even better. I will work hard to bring their voice to this Legislature.

I'd also like to recognize my fellow colleagues on both sides of the House. Many of you I have had the privilege of working with in my role as city councillor. Many of you I see working hard for your constituents. We are all united by the desire to create a better, more inclusive, just and prosperous province for the next generation. I thank all of you for your contributions and congratulate you on your election. I look forward to a productive four years working with both sides of the House.

I would also like to take this opportunity to recognize and extend my thanks to our Coquitlam mayor and council. I was privileged to serve two terms as a Coquitlam councillor and I know that the work municipalities do every day brings positive changes to the lives of residents and cannot go unrecognized. Thank you. I look forward to continuing my work with you on behalf of our mutual constituents, albeit in a different capacity.

My riding of Port Moody–Coquitlam is rich in culture, diversity and community. We care about the environment, small business and families. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending community days put on by our wonderful Oakdale community association and assisted by the neighbouring Burquitlam residents association. It was a day of community, family activities and fun.

In Port Moody we have a strong industrial sector, a healthy retail environment, wonderful restaurants and a vibrant arts community. For nearly a decade Port Moody has been hailed as the city of arts, and this growing sector accounts for many new jobs in our community.
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This year also marks Port Moody's centennial. Their centennial committee has put on many wonderful events, including their recent centennial parade, hat-making, teas, the reconstruction of a historical council meeting and much more.

It has been a pleasure to see Colonel Moody, a.k.a. the Rev. Dr. David Spence, and his wife Mary Moody, a.k.a. Donna Otto, at many community events this year, including the recent Port Moody firefighter pancake breakfast benefiting Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation and Crossroads Hospice Society, and this past weekend's wonderful Golden Spike festival — one that commemorates the joining of our Canadian east coast and west coast railway systems.

Port Moody–Coquitlam is also experiencing unprecedented growth. With the Evergreen line scheduled for completion in the summer of 2016, if all goes as planned, both Coquitlam and Port Moody will be transformed. Those who have spent countless hours commuting during the day and evening, outside the operating hours of the fabulous West Coast Express, will have more time to spend with family and friends.

[1730]

Though municipalities surrounding Vancouver are often labelled bedroom communities, I believe that our government's plan to grow the economy means big opportunities for residents who live in the Tri-Cities to work in the Tri-Cities. With the coming Evergreen line, densification will occur, and many commercial and professional opportunities will be born. This is why I'm so excited to respond to this budget. The budget tabled last Thursday reaffirms this government's commitment to control spending and create jobs.

Though our priorities haven't changed, our forecasts have. We are global citizens and are not immune to the market fluctuations occurring around the world. It seems as though every week brings with it new buzzwords for our growing lexicon: fiscal cliff, sequestration, quantitative easing.

B.C. braved the economic collapse of 2007-2008 and emerged relatively unscathed. We still retain our triple-A credit rating from Standard and Poor's, which saves taxpayers millions of dollars a year in borrowing costs, and we continue to be seen as a fiscally responsible, safe place to invest. But once again we are entering uncertain times.

The latest news out of Washington shows the U.S. economic recovery is far weaker than we first thought and now ranks among the weakest economic recoveries since World War II. The U.S. has a national debt of over $16 trillion, and American taxpayers spend more than $220 billion on debt interest alone every single year.

It's estimated the U.S. government now spends $11 for every $7 it makes and is borrowing approximately $6 billion every day. To put this in context, America now spends more money on servicing its debt than it spends on education, transportation and even homeland security.

Clearly, this is not a sustainable way to run the world's largest economy. Clearly, it's been easier for that government to continue to put off dealing with the root cause of its problems than to construct meaningful changes that stave off future economic collapse. Thankfully, our government had the courage to put forward a budget that, though not popular on the other side of the House, deals with something other governments are often too afraid to touch — fiscal restraint.

Quite often the right thing to do is also the hardest thing to do. In this case, the right thing to do for British Columbia is to control spending. Not only are we respecting current B.C. taxpayers by ensuring we don't spend more than we receive; we are also respecting future taxpayers. Reining in spending is the best thing we can do to ensure we aren't passing our debt on to our children. It is also the first step to getting to a debt-free B.C.

This government balanced the budget every year between 2004 and 2008 and used our own record surpluses to make the single biggest debt paydown in B.C.'s history — $1.9 billion in the 2004-2005 fiscal year. Budget 2013 continues that record. A balanced budget is not about cutting services or funding. It's about increasing spending modestly and responsibly while creating conditions that continue to stimulate job creation and help our province grow.

This budget holds the line on spending while, at the same time, providing resources for families. Resources like the B.C. training and education savings grant, the B.C. early childhood tax benefit and the B.C. early years strategy will allow families to care for children and plan for their future.

Our Premier has a bold vision for B.C.'s future, and Budget 2013 provides a realistic, comprehensive plan to guide us to that future. We are more determined than ever to hold the line on spending, not just because it's the right thing to do but because it was a promise we made to British Columbians and it is the job British Columbians hired us to do.

We absolutely have to do things right. As I know in my riding of Port Moody–Coquitlam, we have young families. We absolutely have to ensure a bright future for our children and for our future leaders. We all want to leave a legacy of well-being for British Columbians. I'm excited about the direction we're heading in. It brings me hope that my children will have more opportunities than my generation did, that their children will one day look back and thank us for the tough decisions we're making today. This is why I support balanced budget 2013.

Thank you, hon. Chair, for allowing me the opportunity to respond.

J. Rice: Firstly, I'd like to recognize that we're on the traditional territory of the Songhees First Nation.

Thank you for the opportunity to present today. It is
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such an honour to be standing here and speaking today. This is certainly nothing close to what I envisioned doing when asked: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

[1735]

As a child, I dreamed of being a firefighter and a police officer. I also dreamed of being the first pro bass fisherwoman. No doubt I will be fighting a lot of fires, and I will certainly be seeking justice, and I will continue my work protecting fish and fish habitat in this new job.

I thank the voters of North Coast for providing me the privilege to represent them in this House. It truly is an honour, and I am proud that I am the first elected female MLA for the North Coast. I commit to fighting tooth and nail to make sure North Coast voices are heard here in Victoria.

I thank my leader for assigning me the role of northern and rural health critic and the role of deputy critic for Children and Family Development. Thank you for trusting me with these important responsibilities.

[Madame Speaker in the chair.]

I would like to thank my predecessor, Gary Coons, for his eight years serving this province. Gary was a tireless MLA who went to great lengths to reach out to the remote communities of North Coast. He is, in part, my inspiration for becoming involved and running politically. Meeting Gary, I realized that there were genuine, caring politicians in the world and that they weren't all self-serving. It gave me hope that we had representatives who actually cared about people. Thank you, Gary.

Of course, I have many others to thank. I had a great team of volunteers in Prince Rupert, Masset, Skidegate, Sandspit, Queen Charlotte and in the central coast — in Bella Bella, Bella Coola and Hagensborg — who all went to great lengths to get me elected. I can't possibly name them all, but I am forever grateful for their support.

I would like to acknowledge, however, James McNish, a 26-year-old young New Democrat who showed up every day before my nomination period even started and stayed right to the bittersweet end and continues to support me today. Thank you, James.

Lastly, I would also like to acknowledge my greatest supporter: my mother, Yvele Paquette, who flew across the country from Ottawa to work on my campaign and who always supports me in my endeavours — whether that be failed guitar lessons, bad haircuts or election campaigns. Her unconditional love carries me through every day.

I would like to acknowledge more people, but the list is too great, and besides, I don't know who would and who wouldn't like their names forever preserved into the Hansard. Please know you are appreciated.

Listening to the other MLAs speak in the House, no doubt every single one of us feels we have the most unique and extraordinary constituency to represent. I've tried to humbly accept that all constituencies are special and that collectively, our diversity is what makes this province so spectacular as a whole.

Admittedly, I am biased, for how many other people have the privilege of being the MLA for the Great Bear rainforest? The North Coast is 66,000 square kilometres in area and includes many remote communities, with nearly half the population being First Nation. We cohabitate with coastal wolves, kermode, black and grizzly bears in the largest remaining intact coastal temperate rainforest on the planet.

The only community I can drive to from my home in Prince Rupert is Port Edward, 16 kilometres away. For all other communities, I must either travel by air or sea. Expensive ferries, with their annual 4 percent fare increases, and floatplanes are the ways of getting around the North Coast constituency.

Nations in the North Coast include the Tsimshian, the Heiltsuk, the Nuxalk, the Kitasoo/Xai'xais, Oweekeno and Haida First Nations. The Nisga'a from the Nass Valley are no longer within the electoral boundary, but we have a large population of Nisga'a living in the North Coast as well.

Ocean resources are extremely important to coastal First Nations, as they depend on harvesting clams, cockles, seaweed, roe on kelp, salmon, halibut, rockfish and more. They say: "When the tide goes out, the table is set." Coastal economies such as fishing, shellfish aquaculture and coastal tourism are centred around having a healthy marine environment.

Fishing and fish processing employ thousands of workers each summer up and down the coast and on Haida Gwaii. Coastal forestry also plays a role, as does agriculture, with some of the best-tasting potatoes growing in the Bella Coola Valley.

[1740]

The export and import of commodities is now transforming the coast of British Columbia, putting communities like Prince Rupert and Port Edward on the global trade map, when a decade ago most people couldn't even find these communities on a map. The Port of Prince Rupert is now the third-busiest port in Canada. It's one of the deepest natural ice-free harbours in the world. It is three days closer to Asian markets than any other North American port and connects to an extremely efficient rail system, giving it a strategic advantage over other ports. Under construction is a $90 million state-of-the-art railroad and utility corridor that will further provide efficiencies and a strategic advantage.

The Prince Rupert Port Authority is a much-valued, major contributor to the economy, employing locals in high-paying jobs and contributing thousands of dollars in community investments. However, I do feel they could pay probably a little more of their fair share in taxes to the municipality of Prince Rupert. But this Liberal government has permanently put in place a cap on port tax
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rates, thus limiting Prince Rupert's revenue generation from any industrial development.

Speaking of fair share, I look forward to the promised northern dividend and how that will benefit northern and rural communities. Too often we in the remote regions of the province, where we live amongst the very resources that generate our provincial wealth, witness the exodus of millions of dollars to fund big projects in urban areas, like a new roof for B.C. Place.

While Prince Rupert lacks some amenities, like a walk-in clinic or a modern shoe store, we do have numerous tanning salons. We get the most amount of cloud cover in North America and 240 days a year of precipitation, mostly in the form of rain. Prince Rupert is, however, a dynamic city with a dedicated community of volunteers and world-class fishing — a city of rainbows.

The city's motto, "By rail and ship with net and pick we win our wealth," reminds us that while there is a possibility of an LNG industry on the forefront for northern British Columbia, we cannot abandon our traditional resource industries for unknown markets. This Liberal government is taking a huge risk in putting all our eggs in the yet-to-be-determined LNG basket, while cutting investment to the traditional resource sectors. My hope is that we develop a diversified economy.

The Enbridge northern gateway pipeline and tanker project is top of mind for north coast people. For many, Enbridge's proposal to bring tar sands bitumen to the coast of B.C. is a matter of life or death. Some remote communities with 70 to 90 percent unemployment rates survive solely on the ability to harvest seafood. Enbridge's proposal to bring oil tankers the length of the Eiffel Tower to the coast becomes a matter of risk to food security.

There are few benefits yet great risks for the Gitga'at of Hartley Bay, the people of Haida Gwaii, Klemtu and Bella Bella in having hundreds of oil tankers each year passing through their territories and putting their fishing and harvesting grounds, and hence their survival, at risk.

If you looked at a photograph of Cordova, Alaska, where the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred over 20 years ago, you could easily mistake it for any north coast fishing community. Social scientists have directly correlated increases to post-traumatic stress disorder, suicides and substance and spousal abuse to this spill. After the spill, the mayor of Cordova committed suicide. Today, 24 years later, the herring fishery has yet to recover, with most fishermen now bankrupt.

Oil spill technology has not changed in the 24 years since this accident. In fact, the same technology of booms and skimmers, chemical dispersants and burning used in the Exxon Valdez oil spill was deployed in the Gulf of Mexico with the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

All this is to say that even if we could successfully clean up an oil spill, the damage would be irreversible. It would essentially wipe out coastal economies and First Nations peoples existence.

The project is an absolute no go in any form. Regardless of government and industry's promises that risks can be mitigated, coastal First Nations have enshrined in their own laws a ban on oil tanker traffic off the coast of B.C. If meeting and respecting the needs and rights of First Nations peoples is a genuine objective of this government, then this should be respected.

The significance of B.C. Ferries to coastal communities is paramount. Rates are skyrocketing and ridership is plummeting. This directly affects the ability for coastal economies to survive. It is cheaper to buy an around-the-world plane ticket than it is for a couple with two kids to take the ferry from Haida Gwaii to Port Hardy.

[1745]

Is it reasonable to expect all British Columbians to help pay for transportation projects such as bridges and roads, but when it comes to B.C. Ferries, the users have to pay? For north coasters, the ferry system is the highway system and should be treated as such.

With annual increases — and we're now due for another 4 percent next April — the cost of food and freight has become unmanageable. A box of cereal at $4 in Prince Rupert is $10 on Haida Gwaii. Parks on-island have reported that the amount of visitors has been decreasing, because the per-foot costing on the ferry is keeping people, their camper vans and trailers away. When will the government realize that the quasi-privatization of B.C. Ferries is simply not working?

We have some dire health and education needs in the north coast. We have some of the lowest post-secondary completion rates and the highest health risk factors. As in other rural and remote communities, health care services can be a challenge — retaining doctors, limited community services, pressures on emergency rooms, lack of specialized services and challenges with travel to and from appointments. We have a drastic need for more and improved mental health services. The lingering damages from the residential school era have a hold on many communities here. I look forward to tackling some of these challenges and working with government to find meaningful solutions.

I am not the youngest member in the Legislature, but I do feel I am of a demographic not traditionally or commonly represented in any level of government. My relationships with young people have convinced me that we need to seriously rethink the tone of our politics. It's not uncommon for us to say: "I'm a New Democrat" or "I'm a Liberal" or "I'm a Green." Our political stripes are worn literally as a badge. Not so for today's youth. Young people today want leadership, not partisanship. They don't call themselves one thing or another. They simply want to see their leaders work together to move things in the right direction.

Today students are leaving post-secondary education burdened with massive debt at the same time that their
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parents were buying their first home and starting a family. It is people under the age of 45 that are most likely to live in poverty today. Youth also realize that all the misleading debt-free hoopla and so-called government belt-tightening are not going to matter one bit if our valleys are flooded, our farmlands dry up and our forests are wiped out with pine beetle.

A colossal failure of this budget is the lack of action on climate change. It's the youth of this province who will pay the price for this government's failed priorities. They're the ones who'll be left on the sidelines either drowning in student debt or without the skills they need to get good-paying jobs in their own communities. They're the ones who will have to suffer the most for our failure to tackle and take climate change seriously.

For years this government has known that a lack of affordable, accessible skills training is a huge drag on our economy. Yet this budget is actually cutting funds for post-secondary education and trades training. This government has been in power for more than a decade, and they have failed to address the challenges of this era — the challenge of building a resilient economy that enriches our citizens without sacrificing our environment, and the challenge of addressing the needs of our aging citizens with compassion.

The seniors in the communities I represent spend long days travelling to get their basic medical needs met — travelling from Haida Gwaii to Prince Rupert, on to Terrace or even Prince George and Vancouver. Throughout the province there are seniors languishing in acute care beds because this government has failed to ensure that we have the supportive care our aging citizens need.

Instead of addressing these issues, this budget drastically underestimates the cost pressures in our health care system while banking on increased fees and medical service premiums to fill in the gaps. It's about looking good on paper, rather than doing the right thing.

This government has a lot of rhetoric around education, but the reality on the ground doesn't resemble the words they speak. For example, year after year, instead of actually putting in the resources to improve graduation rates for aboriginal students, this government has moved the goalposts. Instead of working to increase graduation rates of aboriginal students, the B.C. Liberal government has decided to lower the bar by lowering its goals for aboriginal graduation rates from 65 percent to 55 percent. Instead of meeting their targets, this government lowers the bar.

[1750]

The future of our province cannot be separated from the future of our aboriginal youth, yet we see government going in the opposite direction, with years of stagnating investments in our education system that have led to cuts in services for the students who need the support most. The focus of this government continues to be on contracts, not kids; on photo ops, not fairness. Again, it's about looking good on paper and not doing the right thing.

I hope I've been successful in highlighting not only our challenges with this Liberal budget but also our strength in the North Coast. We are indeed a resilient, hardy bunch of folk with strong environmental values, high community spirit and a great sense of humour. After all, how else could we cope with such copious amounts of precipitation?

I am extremely honoured to be the MLA for North Coast. I look forward to being a strong voice for the often unheard voices in the remote corners of the Great Bear rainforest.

Hon. P. Fassbender: I rise today in support of balanced budget 2013, and I do so with a great deal of honour, being in this House and having been elected as the representative for Surrey-Fleetwood.

My journey to this House began many years ago as a community volunteer and advocate, and I am truly aware of the awesome responsibility that all members of this House have to serve our constituents and to serve this great province.

Before I get into talking about the budget and some of the ministry goals that I have within the Ministry of Education, I do want to thank those people that have supported me in my journey over all of these years of public service, especially my wife. She and I celebrated our 46th anniversary six days after the election. I told her I had a gift for her. I was going to be away a lot, and she thanked me for that — but not really.

She has always stood by me. She's been a great support when I have volunteered time in the community, and she stood with me on a number of occasions as a volunteer as well. That's what partnership is really all about, and she is my most valued partner and someone that I celebrate every day.

I also want to thank all the volunteers on my campaign team in Surrey-Fleetwood, who worked with me to put on a campaign that many people had doubts we would pull off successfully. In saying that, people like Michael Hillman, who was my campaign manager; Paul Williams, who worked tirelessly on my campaign; and literally hundreds of other volunteers made the campaign what it was.

It was a team effort to accomplish a goal to provide the people of my constituency with a choice. That choice was to bring me to this House to represent them in any way that I can, and I'm honoured to be here not only as the MLA for Surrey-Fleetwood but also, now, in the role as the Minister of Education.

I also want to thank Jagrup Brar, who preceded me in that riding, for his many years of service. While we often in this House have debate across this House and we become focused on issues and debate those with vigour, I know that anyone who serves, as he did, for many years
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deserves our respect for the time and commitment that they made. I want to personally thank him for those years and the work that he did.

You know, my journey to this House began when the Premier came to me and said, "Would you do me a favour? Would you be willing" — along with my other colleague, Michelle Stilwell…? I can't mention names; I'm sorry. The hon. member from Vancouver Island. Would we co-chair an event at a convention in Whistler?

It was intended to be an open forum, for anyone who wanted to come, to talk about the future of the province of British Columbia. That particular event said that in order to achieve what you want, you need a vision.

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We heard from many people from different walks of life in this province who said: "We want a free enterprise approach to how we secure the future of this province." "We want balanced budgets." "We want clear visions for investment in the future." "We want to see investment in things like liquefied natural gas," which is going to provide the kind of revenue-generating opportunity that is going to allow us to pay off our debt, is going to allow us to be able to provide the education, the health care, the social services that we all in this House know that the people of British Columbia want.

I said at that particular event that I believe in having a vision that you can clearly articulate. Budget 2013 speaks to that vision. It speaks to ensuring that we have an economy that is going to continue to grow, that is going to continue to provide the leadership that we need in this province for all people of all walks of life and all of their needs.

In the 30 years that I have served community, as a councillor and the last 11 years as a mayor, I have recognized that the challenges that we have fiscally are not easy. I recognize, looking around the world at countries like Greece and the European economy, that we in British Columbia, because of our commitment to sound fiscal policy, have been able to protect the future of the people of British Columbia by putting together fiscal plans and policies that will keep us moving ahead in a positive way.

These are exciting times for the province of British Columbia, and we are working very hard to secure our future, not only in this province, by looking abroad to countries like India, China, Korea. Those markets will provide us the opportunities to grow our economy, to see the kind of growth in our industrial sectors, in our forest industry, in all of the things that we know the world needs that British Columbia has to offer.

I also know that the city of Surrey, which is one of the fastest-growing cities in this country, is playing a significant role in the realization of those dreams for British Columbia. When I look around my constituency and the city of Surrey and the entire region, I see significant growth, significant opportunity, jobs. I see the things that everyone is looking for in order to be successful.

I also see the investment that this government has made in that community. We have built the Port Mann Bridge, infrastructure that is being finished along the No. 1 corridor. It isn't just about moving people; it's about moving those valuable goods and services throughout the region and throughout the province. That investment is going to reap results for generations to come.

We're completing the construction on the South Fraser perimeter road, which also is going to contribute, as the Port Mann infrastructure does. That $1.3 billion investment is going to create over 4,000 jobs and 7,000 long-term jobs in manufacturing and light industrial surrounding that, which this province is going to realize. That is significant investment, significant results.

Sometimes when we hear the criticisms about spending money on infrastructure, we need to look beyond the cost. We need to look at the benefits and what future benefits are going to come from that.

Building a strong economy in British Columbia means that the citizens can be proud of what we're doing to ensure the future for their children, their grandchildren and future generations. That's why this government brought in this budget, brought in the kinds of economic policies that are going to ensure that for everyone.

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It means that we are going to invest in small businesses. It means that we are going to cut red tape for businesses so that they can be more successful. They can get the jobs done and see that their business is going to grow and that they're going to continue to create the jobs that are going to ensure the economic health.

That is what Budget 2013 is all about. It's not just a budget. It is a road map to the future of this province and the future of the economy of this province and the future for every one of us who live here and those people who are yet to come. People around the world look at British Columbia as a stable economy, an economy that is growing, an economy that even in light of world decline was able to stay secure, to keep a triple-A credit rating and to ensure that the investments we are making are bringing those kinds of results.

I'm proud of the fact that the community I represent — and that I also represent as Education Minister — the city of Surrey, is one of the fastest-growing communities in the country. We are working hard with the school district in the city of Surrey to build new schools, to add additional spaces, to ensure that we meet the needs of that very diverse and very large community and the needs of all of the children that we have there.

We recently signed a project agreement with the city of Surrey to build new elementary schools in the Clayton and South Newton areas and classroom additions in Fraser Heights Secondary and the Ecole Panorama Ridge Secondary. Each of those four projects includes additional space for the growth that we're going to have, and we are also building in neighbourhood learning centres so
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that they not only meet the needs of the young people who are in those schools but the community as a whole. Again, that is significant investment in the future of my community and the future of this province.

I know that my colleague from the Ministry of Advanced Education talked about investment in advanced education. We both serve the community of Surrey as MLAs. We also are partners in the future working together so that the K-to-12 education system brings students to the place where they can graduate from high school and then get the skills training or the university education or whatever choice they want so that they can succeed moving forward. That is what this is all about.

I've heard lots of criticism about cutbacks and so on. I want every British Columbian to know that this government, since 2000 and 2001, has increased education funding 29 percent, in my ministry, from $4.3 billion to $5.3 billion. If that's a cutback, then I don't know what to call it. From my point of view, that again is significant investment in the future. It is indeed a significant investment.

During that same time period public funding to schools grew by $1.4 billion — $981 million in operating funds and $407 million in one-time grants. When I look at the record of the NDP government when they were in power, I didn't see that kind of investment. I didn't see that kind of commitment to education. But I know that Budget 2013 is going to ensure that we are going to move ahead so that we can continue to invest in the future.

We do have a well-funded education system, and we have many skilled and very capable teachers within that system. We also have a very high level of student achievement. Over the next year we've committed to growing our strong economy for all of the children and to providing long-term stability.

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Madame Speaker, I'd like to speak about that for a moment. When we say long-term stability, we're talking about protecting our children's education and the environment for the teachers in our classroom, for parents, for communities. Stability is not about trying to force an agreement. It's about negotiating an agreement that will meet the needs of all of those stakeholders in the education system. We, as a government, are committed to working with the teachers to find that solution so that that stability will be there.

What does that mean? Well, that means that a student today going into grade 2 would be able to graduate knowing that their educational journey will be protected. That is a significant, positive benefit to them, to their parents, to their communities, to the school trustees, and that is our goal. Again, Budget 2013 reinforces our desire to move in that direction.

There are lots of transformations that we need to go through in our educational system. We recognize that we all want to be able to invest more, but fiscal prudence says that you need to make priority decisions that will ensure our economy and ensure the future of the province of British Columbia. Budget 2013 does that in every sector, in every ministry, and we are committed to ensuring that we run a tight fiscal house that is going to meet the needs of British Columbia today and into the future.

We are also investing in safety for our students, because the investment that we've put in, in the Ministry of Education for seismic upgrades, for all of the things we know will ensure our students are kept safe in their classrooms, is a significant investment that we're making as well.

Today I had the opportunity to meet with some young people and their families at an announcement where I reaffirmed that Budget 2013 protects the $1,200 training and education savings grant available to families with children under the age of seven. I spoke to some of the parents there, and they said: "Thank you for doing this, because it reminds us of our responsibility, as parents and grandparents, to be engaged in ensuring that we save for our children's education." They thanked us for that, and they want to see this as that kick-start for them to save money for their children's future.

I'm proud to be a part of a government that is willing to make hard decisions. I'm proud to be a part of a government that has a vision for the future that is clearly articulated, that ensures that we move ahead in a positive way.

Budget 2013 is not the end of the road. It's the beginning of a new future, the beginning of a new vision for British Columbia. I'm proud to be part of this side of the House and soon to be serving with our Premier. I do believe that the people of British Columbia will look back at this last election and the decision they made as a wise investment in their own future.

S. Robinson: I am pleased to rise in the House today representing Coquitlam-Maillardville as a member of the 40th parliament of British Columbia. This is a place of grandeur and history, a place where we collectively impact on the lives of every British Columbian.

Just like everyone here, I certainly did not get to this House alone. There were many who worked alongside me, providing me with the opportunity to serve the constituents of Coquitlam-Maillardville and the rest of British Columbia. First and foremost, I must thank the voters of Coquitlam-Maillardville, especially those 41 voters who got me here in June.

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I must also thank the behind-the-scenes supporters. My parents, Irv and Rhoda Dardick, who made sure I understood the value of using my voice, and especially my father, the first feminist in my life, who told me since I was a little girl: "You can do whatever it is you put your mind to" — my in-laws, Sandra and Gary Robinson, who continue to encourage me; my husband, my life partner and my best friend, who has come along on whatever
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carpet ride I have dragged him along to and has done so without complaint and with good humour; my children, Aaron and Leya Robinson, who continue to remind me about the importance of using my voice and who, for me, represent our future. My efforts here in this 40th parliament are in honour of them and their future.

Of course, I would not be here today if it were not for my campaign team and volunteers who worked tirelessly for months to make sure that we engaged as many voters as possible. My campaign team, led by Tania Jarzebiak, was joined by John Hooker, Susanna Walden, Pat Cooper and Laura Gullickson, who, together with hundreds of volunteers, worked with me to engage our citizens on the doorstep, on the phones and in the community, listening to people's concerns and gaining a very thorough understanding of what the electorate expects from their representative and from their government.

I would also be remiss if I did not take this time to acknowledge and thank the recently retired MLA for Coquitlam-Maillardville, Diane Thorne. I've been following in Diane's footsteps for many years, first when I began working for SHARE Family and Community Services in 1990. It's a social service agency serving the Tri-Cities. Diane had worked there back in the '80s. Then I became a Coquitlam city councillor in 2008, just as Diane did in 1996. Finally, I became the MLA for Coquitlam-Maillardville, just as Diane did in 2005. It is my honour to continue to follow in her footsteps. I don't have the Newfoundland humour that Diane brought to this House and, while I may not have her height either, I do share her passion and commitment for serving our community.

Coquitlam-Maillardville has been my home for nearly 20 years. As a resident, a parent, a family therapist, a community volunteer and a Coquitlam city councillor, I have witnessed the changes that have taken place over the years in Coquitlam-Maillardville. What was once strictly a bedroom community comprised of single-family houses is morphing into a higher-density community where basement suites, both legal and illegal, are the main stock of affordable housing for our children just fresh out of the nest, young families and newcomers.

I spent months knocking on doors of these houses in my community — houses where no one should be living, where mould grows rampant, where there are seven children and two adults in a single-bedroom basement suite, where working people cannot afford to support their families and are making use of the local food bank in order to make ends meet. Bogus budget 2.0 does absolutely nothing to help these families in my community.

Coquitlam-Maillardville is a unique place — just as, I'm sure, everybody else lives in a unique place. What's unique about Coquitlam-Maillardville is that it's been the historical centre for francophone culture for British Columbia. The development of Fraser Mills over a hundred years ago brought Québécois workers and their families to the region. When you visit Maillardville you can see the church in the centre of Laval Square. In many ways it represents the quintessential small-town Quebec in all of its glory.

But Maillardville, like I said before, has been changing, and it is now one of the most ethnically and language-diverse neighbourhoods in the city. Where once you heard only French with a little bit of English, today there may be a dozen or more languages spoken on the same block. As a result, the number of ESL students in our community is astounding. These children are the children of immigrants, people who came here to find a better life, who were promised a better life — new immigrants who work harder and longer than those of us who've had the privilege of being born here.

These children, for whom the government has promised a debt-free B.C., are not supported in our schools to learn the language skills and, eventually, the employment skills needed to fully participate in the economy. This budget does nothing for these children, and I worry that their inability to fully participate in the economy as they grow and mature will come home to roost.

Yes, Coquitlam-Maillardville is changing. Fraser Mills is long gone, and in a few years those industrial lands where the mill once stood will be developed into a small village of its own, with mid- and highrise apartments, destination boutique shops and restaurants, with a pier that will to permit you to take in the mighty Fraser as never before.

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Further up the mountain, mid-rise and highrise apartments are now being considered where once only single-family housing existed. Increased density is the mode of development in Coquitlam, given the high land costs and the city's commitment to build up, not out. As a designated high-growth community, the city of Coquitlam expects to grow by 80 percent over the next 30 years.

Coquitlam-Maillardville needs to adapt to that anticipated growth. Absorbing all these additional people will be a challenge. But how will we be prepared if this government is committed to selling off lands that are considered surplus today but may be needed in ten to 15 years? Where will the additional children go to school? Where will seniors housing be built? Where will out-patient facilities be built?

Given the current transportation challenges that plague my community, you won't be able to get to the Royal Columbian Hospital with the added density. The Brunette interchange was not considered along with the changes to the Highway 1 project. I don't see any plan to properly fund transit so we can get cars off the road. A failing Bailey bridge on an intra-municipal road linking Coquitlam to New Westminster is affecting residents and local industry to the point of total embarrassment.

Bogus budget 2.0 is shortsighted and shortchanges our children from having a quality of life that so many of us have enjoyed.
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In the months leading up to the election I heard from many constituents that they expect their voices to be heard by their government, and the electorate put me here to deliver their message. There were three themes that I heard consistently on the doorstep.

Health care. People in my constituency are worried for their aging parents, their children with chronic health conditions and the sustainability of the health care system in general. They value the system that their tax dollars have been supporting for years, and they are worried that when they need to access care it just won't be there for them. There was nothing in this budget that addresses those concerns, and that is unacceptable. This budget does not live up to campaign promises. This government said they will protect vital services to British Columbians, and I just don't see it.

The second theme I heard was education. Parents want their children to get a proper education from teachers who love their job, because they know that when teachers are appreciated and valued they will work hard for our children and it is our children who will benefit. Parents also know — and I know this part firsthand as a parent of two 20-somethings — that access to post-secondary school and skills training is not the same for them as it was for those of us who've gone before.

I have had the opportunity to present to students in a social justice class in our local high school over a number of years. I like to tell them about the time when I went to university. I was just out of high school. I was 17 years old. It was 1981 — and for those of you doing the math in your head, that makes me 49. The minimum wage was $3.65 an hour. At this point, the students typically start to guffaw at how ridiculous that sounds.

Then I go on to tell them that in my first full year at UBC the total was $845 for the full year. That meant that earning minimum wage over a two-month summer, you could earn enough to pay tuition and cover off your books as well. Today's 17-year-olds know that that is no longer possible.

A minimum-wage job today cannot come close to even paying a year's tuition. Our young people do not have access to post-secondary and skills training, and I heard this over and over again on the doorstep: "I cannot access the training and education I need to get ahead." I see nothing here in this budget that is going to help our young people participate in the economy that is vital to their success and to ours.

The third theme I heard on the doorstep was about jobs and the economy. I did hear from residents that they are worried about the economy and their ability to sustain a quality of life that would provide them with the capacity to care for their families.

There was one family I spoke to whose story stayed with me throughout the campaign. It was a Sunday afternoon. This woman was preparing the Sunday meal for her family. She came to the door with her apron on, carrying a knife. She had a lot to say to me that afternoon. What she was telling me, as she shook her fist with the knife in hand, was that she and her husband, two professionals, are working harder and harder every year but continuing to fall behind.

When I asked them how this hardship was playing out in their lives, what I heard from this mother of elementary school–aged children was that in order to make ends meet she had to take on extra shifts, weekends and evenings, to cover off some of their child care expenses and challenging housing costs. What that meant for them was that the only family time they had was Sunday afternoons, and that was not how it was supposed to be.

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She was angry and waving that kitchen knife around and being really clear that the pressures were a challenge. When I asked her, "What would make a difference for you and your family?" she talked about help with child care. She talked about a lack of transit, which as a result required two family vehicles, adding to the financial burden for this family. I see nothing in this budget that will make a difference to this family.

They're already working hard. They already have jobs — jobs that used to be middle-class jobs that provided you with a middle-class life and the dream. The dream of having evenings and weekends with your family — that's an illusion for this woman, and there was nothing in this budget that will make life easier for her or for other British Columbians working hard to make ends meet.

In fact, with the mounting debt that we are seeing, I can only imagine that life for this woman and for millions of British Columbians will only get more difficult as the services and programs that are designed to provide some assistance when you need it are eroded.

This notion of saying one thing and doing another that we are witnessing — promoting a debt-free B.C. when we see this mounting debt climbing by the minute, and then as the first order of business, this government gives raises to a host of staffers — is reminiscent of parenting styles that I've seen in my family therapy practice over 20 years.

The parents bring their kids in for therapy because the parent needs the child to be different. Yet in the interview with the parent, we discover that the parent's philosophy of "do as I say, not as I do" is really what's creating the problem. This inconsistency is crazy-making for families, and it's crazy-making right now here for British Columbians. With this government, we have a crazy-making going on right here in this House.

I have a few more thoughts to share about this budget, thoughts that come from life lessons I learned from my children. My son, Aaron, is a very charming young man — very articulate, very bright — and likes the finer things in life. As many in this room can appreciate, it has been a challenge to wean him from the bank of Mom and Dad since he graduated university almost two years ago.

You see, my son always believed in grand long-range
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plans of "someday" that would take care of him. "When I get this great job someday, I'll make enough money to buy those wonderful things. When I get this great job someday, I can pay off this student credit card where you don't have to pay interest until you graduate." Of course, he graduated, and the interest on that credit card started mounting.

All the jobs that were going to pay him well didn't materialize because an undergraduate degree just doesn't get you those jobs anymore. For him, the possibilities of responsibility were always at some point in the future. Getting him to see that he needed to act now, that he needed to take responsibility now and that he was grown up now was some of the most challenging parenting for me. I'm so proud of my son for changing his ways, for sucking it up and getting whatever job he could so he could take responsibility for his debt.

I'm worried that this government will not take responsibility for its debt and in its immaturity will see this fantasy prosperity fund much the same way my son saw his future. My son believed he had it all figured out, but I know that the adults in this room know better. I'm counting on the adults in this room to recognize that this bogus budget 2.0 is not a long-term plan but a panicked budget hoping that the electorate will buy it long enough for the dream job, or in this case, the prosperity fund, to get them out of this mess. We need a government grounded in the here and now and grounded in reality.

My son isn't the only one to teach me a few lessons. I've also learned valuable lessons from my daughter, Leya, who has been playing hockey since she was five years old. I've watched her skill development and love for the game grow and mature over the years, and I've come to admire it all.

The thing that has stood out for me among all the things that she has learned from hockey is that I've always said that she's such a good loser. Not in the disrespectful way, but in the way that when her team would lose, I would check in with her and say: "Honey, how are you? Like, you've just lost." And she'd say: "Mom, I'm good. I got out there, I played hard, and I made a difference in the game even if we didn't win."

I've really come to admire that ability to recognize that you have a role to play even if you don't win. Her lesson to me is that while I may be on this side of the House, I am prepared to get out there on behalf of my constituents, work hard to be their voice in this House, and even though I am not in government this time, I will do what I can to make a difference, to hold this government accountable and to challenge them when they are saying one thing and doing another, just as they are doing with this budget.

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Hon. T. Stone: First off, I would like to congratulate all returning members as well as those newly elected members, including myself, who are here in the House for the first time. It really is an honour to rise today to speak in favour of this budget — indeed, my first speech to this House. It's an honour to have been elected for the first time to represent the people of Kamloops–South Thompson, and I'm honoured to have been appointed by the Premier as Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, especially coming from the key B.C. transportation hub of Kamloops.

Now, I'd like to begin by dedicating my speech — this my first in the House — to my late grandfather, Bernard Spring. My grandpa was very passionate about politics, and I remember having my very first political conversations with him when I was just a little boy. To my dismay, later in life he was a staunch CCFer and a member of the New Democratic Party, and we disagreed vehemently on that point.

But I always said to him: "Gramps, one day I'm going to get elected, and I'm going to hang a picture of you in my office in the Legislature." So I'm thrilled to say that even though he's probably rolling in his grave, there is a big picture of my Grandpa Spring in my office here in the Legislature, and I'm sure that he would be very proud.

I'd also like to thank the people of Kamloops–South Thompson. It really is a tremendous honour to have been entrusted with the responsibility to advocate for the priorities and the projects which are important to the people of Kamloops and indeed the South Thompson Valley.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the campaign team, too many to name, who worked tirelessly before and during the campaign to help me realize this dream.

I'd like to pay tribute to all of my caucus colleagues and, indeed, to the Premier herself for the exceptional leadership that she displayed.

Last but not least, I would like to acknowledge and thank my family — my wife of 13 years, Chantelle, and our three little girls, Hannah, Sydney and Caitlin — 9, 6 and 3 respectively. I'm in for a little bit of trouble, I think, a little bit later in life with three daughters at home — although the member for Kamloops–North Thompson has a lot of experience with that as well, I think. I'd also like to thank my parents, Ken and Bernadette Stone, who are still in very good health and very supportive of our family in Kamloops.

I do want to take this opportunity, as well, to acknowledge a couple of former members of this House from Kamloops–South Thompson. Kevin Krueger served with distinction for 17 years as an MLA and a minister. And while I'm not sure that I can live up to the boombox reputation, I will do my best to fight tirelessly for the interests and the priorities of the people of Kamloops.

I also want to acknowledge Claude Richmond, who served this House for a good number of years and was also a Speaker. I'd also like to thank the member for Kamloops–North Thompson, who I look forward to
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working with as we ensure that the interests of Kamloops are well represented here in Victoria.

Now, I described myself as a family man, a longtime resident of Kamloops. I've lived there 25 years. I've been very involved in numerous community organizations during that time. I'm also an entrepreneur and a small business owner — CEO of a growing technology company.

Kamloops–South Thompson is a beautiful, diverse, growing part of the province. In addition to the south shore of the city of Kamloops, the riding includes Savona on the west end, Chase on the east end of the riding. It also includes the communities of Pritchard, Adams Lake, Westwold, Monte Lake and Cherry Creek, so it's a really nice blend of urban and rural.

The economy is strong. We've got the lowest unemployment in many, many years — thriving agriculture and ranching sectors, as well as a booming mining industry and a strengthening forest industry.

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There's also and a growing tech sector in Kamloops. I'm also very proud of the fact that Kamloops is, indeed, a university town. Thompson Rivers University now has over 10,000 students full-time on campus in addition to thousands more on line. It's indeed home to Canada's newest law school.

The recent election was a great opportunity to develop an even deeper appreciation for the community with which my family and I live. I met with homebuilders and ranchers, miners, foresters, small business people, and I was so very impressed with just how many entrepreneurial leaders there are across Kamloops and the region.

I was also very impressed with the many community and service organizations that I had the pleasure to get to know better. I think of people like Brenda Aynsley and her dedicated team at the Thompson-Nicola United Way in Kamloops, which year in, year out punches way above its weight and actually, with a few exceptions, raises more money than almost any other United Way in British Columbia.

I think of Bernadette Siracky and her amazing team of volunteers and staff at the Kamloops Food Bank, making a difference in many lives every day. I think of Stan Dueck and his passionate team at the New Life Mission, who are truly saving lives, true angels looking after others. I think of Deb McClelland and her energetic team at the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce, a leading voice amongst the chamber community across B.C. and Canada.

Yes, I am fiercely proud of Kamloops, a city that has given a lot to me, a lot to my family over the 25 years I have lived there. It is a great place to raise a family, start a business and enjoy a high quality of life.

I stand here today proud to support this budget. The recent election was indeed about how we maintain prosperity, and we've enjoyed a good run in British Columbia and in Kamloops. The election was about how we stay on track with job creation and smart investments in health care and education.

This budget builds on what has been an outstanding track record for the people of Kamloops and the Thompson valleys. If we look at health care, substantial upgrades have been made to Royal Inland Hospital over the last number of years — to a new emergency room, intensive care unit, the cancer centre. A new psychiatric centre was built, air ambulance service. Over 500 residential care, assisted living and group home beds and new seniors facilities have been constructed since 2001, and more are on the way.

We'll look at Thompson Rivers University again for a moment, home to Canada's first new law school in 30 years, with a particular focus on graduates who choose to focus on small communities, rural areas and aboriginal people. We saw this government make a significant investment in a new learning commons building, significant expansion of programming across both the academic trades and on-line learning areas and expansion of master's programs.

From an infrastructure perspective, we have seen some very important investments in Kamloops over the last number of years, in highways, water and sewer treatment facilities, sports centres, a new airport terminal and many others.

Kamloops is at a pivotal moment today, and we have momentum. The economy is strong. People are working. Small business is thriving. The tourism and resource sectors are expanding. Investors are coming to Kamloops each and every day. And as I said a moment ago, unemployment is at record lows. In fact, 2,500 more people are working in Kamloops today than one year ago.

On the job creation front, I think of companies like new New Gold's New Afton Mine in Kamloops, which recently reopened and now employs 350 people, including 25 percent First Nations. I think of companies like Horizon North, Northern Trailer, which supplies the oil and gas and mining sectors, now employing well over 800 people and hiring more and more every day, including large numbers of women and First Nations.

I stand here today as someone who deeply believes in free enterprise. I believe in risk-taking. I believe in innovation. I believe that the most important means to a happy, dignified and fulfilled life is a supportive family and a job.

I believe in fairness and balance and in recognizing that the choices we make today are not just about us; they're about our kids and our grandkids. I believe in the fundamental promise that each generation has a responsibility to leave our community and our country better off for the next generation. And I say that with my three daughters in mind.

I believe that if you work hard and act responsibly, you will get ahead. If you take risk, you will be rewarded. If you look after your neighbour, your kindness and gener-
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osity will be reciprocated.

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If we want the best health care, exceptional schools for our kids, great care for seniors and supports to be there for the less fortunate, we have to be able to pay for it. That only happens when we have a healthy, vibrant economy with people paying taxes because they're working, because they have jobs. But governments don't create jobs; the private sector does. I believe that the role of government is to foster the right climate within which free enterprise can do just that.

Under the leadership of Premier Christy Clark, our government has an outstanding record on this front, as reflected in our triple-A credit rating. We balanced our budgets. We're controlling spending. We're holding the line on taxes. We continue to have the lowest income taxes on the first $120,000. We're keeping regulations in check. We've seen a 43 percent reduction in regulations since 2001. We're investing in large and lucrative energy projects, including LNG and new mines, opening up markets in Asia for B.C. goods and investing in skills training.

I'm very proud of this balanced budget. It is indeed the foundational piece that we've put in place so that moving forward, we can now focus on eliminating our debt.

My priorities as MLA are fairly straightforward. First, I will support policies that accelerate job creation. I will advocate for policies that respect small business as an engine of our economy. This means ensuring that we continue to do everything we can to get out of the way of small business so that small business can do what it does best, and that's create jobs.

I will advocate for continued Royal Inland Hospital redevelopment. This government has made a firm commitment to follow through on a $400 million expansion plan for Royal Inland Hospital, and we're going to make sure that that happens.

I will encourage continued momentum at Thompson Rivers University. While our track record in supporting the growth of TRU is indeed one to be proud of, there is more to be done, particularly in strengthening linkages between industry and skills training and accelerating the success of our international focus.

I also want to say just a couple of words about the technology sector. As a technology CEO, I could not be more proud to be standing here and saying that the technology sector is one of those sectors in British Columbia that perhaps is less understood than it should be, but it punches way above its weight. It's an industry that we should all be very proud of. I'm going to do everything I can, working with the Minister of Technology and other members of government, to continue to accelerate the technology sector.

It employs 84,000 people today, and we're driving towards 100,000 by 2014. And 8,900 companies are tech in British Columbia and represent about 6 percent of our GDP. The best part of the tech sector is that these companies are located in every single community around this province, large and small. These are high-paying jobs, and they're clean jobs.

Lastly, I want to take just a couple of moments to outline a few priorities as Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure in relation to the budget. Again, I am honoured that the Premier asked me to take on this role. It is one of those roles in government that is indeed all about powering the economy. It is about investment. It is about trade. It is about jobs. It is about ensuring that we're doing what we can through strategic investments to grow our economy. I'm committed to building on what has been a tremendous track record in terms of transportation and infrastructure investments.

Now, the Premier has outlined a number of transportation and infrastructure initiatives, which I will be driving as we move forward. We will complete the South Fraser perimeter road. We will complete the Cariboo connector. We're going to complete the existing work on the Kicking Horse Canyon project. Those projects will be delivered on time and on budget.

Since 2001 the province and its partners have invested over $11.8 billion in highway improvements across British Columbia. This does include projects like the South Fraser perimeter road, which I just mentioned, as well as the Port Mann Bridge project. The Port Mann Bridge project is one that we're very proud of, because that one has actually cut commute times in half. It has created 8,000 jobs, and it has allowed transit to roll across the Port Mann Bridge for the first time in 25 years.

I am excited to be working with the Mayors Council as we work together as partners on a new governance structure for the Mayors Council and TransLink and new funding options.

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As I've said in this House previously over the last week and a half, there indeed will be a referendum so that the people of the Lower Mainland have the ability to weigh in and have their voices heard on any new funding options for transit and transportation improvements in the Lower Mainland.

I will be working hard as minister to develop a memorandum of understanding with the Port of Prince Rupert for the development of LNG terminals in the Prince Rupert–Port Edward region. I will be working equally hard to develop and implement a Kitimat port structure and governance model in anticipation of a number of LNG marine terminals being sited on the Douglas Channel. The LNG opportunity in this province is massive, and I am proud to be part of the government that is going to unleash it for the benefit of future generations.

Working with B.C. Ferries, the government's going to ensure that there is a long-term sustainable vision in place for ferries in coastal communities across British Columbia. We do have a world-class ferry system. We
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want to keep it that way. That means focusing on keeping it affordable, efficient and sustainable.

We're going to continue the four-laning project of the Trans-Canada Highway between Kamloops and the Alberta border. This is one that is particularly near and dear to my heart. We've committed $650 million for the next ten years of this project, and I am so excited to see new shovels in the ground literally every week. Since 2001 almost $700 million has been invested in the Trans-Canada Highway corridor.

We're going to continue consultations and planning for the replacement of the Massey tunnel to ensure that access to the gateway and Asian markets is not stymied by a critical congestion point in our transportation infrastructure.

Last but certainly not least, I'm excited to be working on a plan for a new transportation strategy for Vancouver Island. I will have more to say on that in the coming weeks.

Madam Speaker, I am honoured to be here today as the member of the Legislative Assembly for Kamloops–South Thompson. I thank the fine, fine people of Kamloops for placing their trust in me. I pledge to them that I will not forget why I'm here. I will not forget who put me here. I will not forget where my priorities are. I want to thank my colleagues once again. I want to thank the Premier for her leadership, and I want to say it's a great honour to be here in the House as the MLA for Kamloops–South Thompson.

N. Macdonald: Very well said. It's always a pleasure to stand up and speak to the issues in front of us. I had a chance to speak somewhat in the throne response, and I just want to take this opportunity to respond to the budget that was put in front of us. We only have a few minutes before the day ends, but I want to touch on a few areas.

Before I get there, I just want to say that I'm looking forward to what I think is the more interesting part of the budget process, which is estimates, which starts on Monday.

I enjoy that detailed examination. It's important, and particularly important in the ministry that I'm responsible for critiquing, with the member for Cowichan Valley. I was pleased to get back as the critic for this file and pleased that the member for Cowichan Valley is there with me — probably not as pleased as I would have been to be the Minister of Forests, but certainly it's a file that's important and that I appreciate.

It is hard to lose elections. I mean, personally I think all of us don't like losing, and there's also the personal sense of failing those that are going to feel the real impacts of our political loss. There are seniors and children and those that care about the land that are deeply disappointed with the outcome. There's no doubt that there are many, many individuals that I know well and that are going to suffer because of this budget and because of the policies continuing as they have over the past number of years.

Like I say, I feel that I have a personal part in not coming through for them in the way that I would have liked to. But we're here, and certainly, the work continues. Success comes in opposition, but not as easily as in government, so we need to work harder. And I can tell you we're happy to do that.

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The budget that was put in front of us has been critiqued, I think, very effectively by the Finance critic and those that have followed. It is clearly a budget that is not balanced.

You don't balance a budget when you're selling off assets and claiming that that is the way of balancing it. You don't balance a budget when you take these deferral accounts where B.C. Hydro is borrowing money, putting them into deferral accounts and then pulling them out as profits to send to government. The Auditor General described that as flimflam bookkeeping, and it is. So that's there as something that is just a reality that British Columbians have to deal with.

We had, pre-election, $16 million worth of public funds spent to make assertions that I think any reasonable person would say are ludicrous. The jobs plan, which we saw introduced here when the Premier first took over from Gordon Campbell, was one that at the initial outset was clearly just a communications piece, and it continues to be.

You have assertions made in that $16 million worth of public funds on advertising that don't bear any relationship to reality, claims around jobs being created — and even in the speeches here — when Statistics Canada points out that over 31,000 private sector jobs have been lost, that GDP is not growing the way the government had projected that it would.

Those projections are down. Ten thousand people have left the province since Christy Clark became Premier, ten thousand more than came to the province. Those are facts and are the opposite of what is often claimed in government-funded advertising.

The whole notion of debt-free, which was on the bus…. I talked about this in the throne speech response. You cannot repeat that mantra, I think, with a straight face. The reality is that debt under the B.C. Liberals is going from $33 billion up to $69.8 billion, and it's there in the documents that were handed out by government itself. So to claim that somehow we are going to move, by increasing debt, to a debt-free B.C. is ludicrous.

And that's only one part of it. We also have financial obligations that are not often talked about. The work that's done in the Kicking Horse Pass — and there's significant work — does not actually show up as debt. It
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is a P3 project where the cost of the project is paid out on a maintenance contract, so it doesn't show up as debt. It is part of something that we didn't have prior to 2001 in any significant way — contractual obligations of $96 billion. So that's P3s.

That's also $55 billion in IPP contracts. These are significant elements of the budget and certainly fly in the face of any claims to making the province debt-free. It just doesn't add up.

And then you have talks of a leader with vision, the Premier with vision, when the government over the past two years, and, really, going forward, has seemed so rudderless and continues to seem rudderless.

So I guess it's fairly cynical politics that we're engaged in, and I think as politicians we have an obligation to do better. Many, I think, would take the lesson from the past election that if cynical politics works, it's naive not to participate in it, and I think that's a mistake. It is a downward slide to be more and more base in our politics, and we have to do better than that.

My early experience, my early political awareness, was partially formed, especially in the early period…. In '85 and '86 I worked in Lesotho in south Africa, and it was a very different experience for somebody who came from Canada.

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Lesotho was at that time a military dictatorship. While we were there, there was a coup, so that was an experience. And South Africa, of course, was in the midst of apartheid, which was a very, very strange society to step into if you hadn't experienced something like that. My experience was that society was really terribly served by the government structures that were there, and you could really see the impact of the failure of politics, in a very stark way.

The second experience I had at the time was of Nelson Mandela — who, because he's coming up to his 95th birthday and because of his illness, you think of. There was somebody who had for decades been in jail. At the time in South Africa it was illegal to have a picture of Nelson Mandela. It was illegal to put his name in writing. Yet he came out and set an example of political leadership at its finest.

I guess the thing that I would take from that.… I mean, we are far from a world of coups, and we shouldn't aspire to be Nelson Mandelas or anything like that, but we can be a bit less cynical and be a bit more careful with the institution that we have. I think that's not asking too much. And we can aspire to be better in leadership than we often are.

Let's talk about two local issues that we can try to raise the bar on. The first one — I'll just pick up on what the previous speaker was talking about — is the assertion that there are investments in the Trans-Canada Highway coming, okay? Let's talk about that as an example of where we could do better, we could be a bit less cynical and we could provide a bit more inspiring leadership.

In 2009 the B.C. Liberals put up signs all along the Trans-Canada, promising a four-lane highway from the Alberta border to Kamloops. Now, they….

Hon. T. Stone: It's coming.

N. Macdonald: A lot of things are coming, right? At some point, sure. At the pace we're going, by the way — since the Transportation Minister says it's coming — from the work done from 2001 to 2013, it's another 60 years at that pace. The funding that the minister talks about is not in the budget — that $650 million. It's not in. If you look at pages 36 and 37, there's no money set aside in any significant way for that work to happen, and it lays it out over the next three years.

"It's coming" is a bit of a joke, right? Even if that money that the Premier talks about, that $600 million, comes forward, it essentially fixes the bridges along the existing road. It doesn't accomplish what needs to be accomplished.

In 2009 we had signs that promised that there would be four-laning coming. In 2013 what do we have before the election? Those signs are removed, and new signs are put up. They spend $300,000 on a consultation process. If anyone watched what was going on, they would've been left with the impression that something actually would happen.

I guess the challenge for the new Minister of Transportation is: it's one thing to say, "It's coming"; it's another thing to be honest with people as to when that's going to take place. What happens with the next election? New signs? Or is there actually going to be a highway that is up to a standard that needs to be there?

There are dozens of people — and people along the Trans-Canada will know this — killed on that road because of its inadequacy. That is an incredibly important part of moving not only British Columbia's economy forward but also all of Canada's economy. There are an incredible number of trucks that move along through there.

On the Trans-Canada, the investments need to have more than signs, more than vague promises. What real leadership would look like is actually doing that work and laying out, in an honest way, to people when that work is going to happen. That's one example.

The second example that I have in the time is just around processes when we invite people to participate in work. That's around the Timber Supply Committee. We invited people to participate in what was supposed to be a meaningful discussion of forest policy going forward. Some 650 people or organizations or communities took the time to organize themselves and make presentations, which were sophisticated and informed.

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We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayers' money taking Hansard around with us. It was good work — four B.C. Liberals, three B.C. NDP. We travelled around. We engaged people. We did the work seriously.
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People participated seriously. But was there ever any intention from this government to actually take that advice and do something with it? We were clear we needed to do better inventory work. We needed to do some silviculture. We needed to do work on the land.

In those exact areas where we said investments made sense, where licensees in communities said investments made sense, this government cuts $35 million. None of that work is going to be done. So why do you have these processes where you ask people to become involved in governance and then show complete contempt for that participation?

That's a second area where we just simply have to improve. Otherwise, you're not going to get people coming out to Finance committees. You're not going to see them as meaningful. You're not going to see this place as meaningful as it needs to be.

I can tell you that this budget is a budget that does not address the needs of British Columbians. It is not being presented in a way that matches a reality that's out there. We have to do better.

I note the hour. I know that I was about to be reminded, so I would move adjournment of debate and turn it over to the Government House Leader to continue with that.

N. Macdonald moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. T. Lake moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Madame Speaker: This House at its rising stands adjourned until 10 a.m. tomorrow morning.

The House adjourned at 6:57 p.m.

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