2014 Legislative Session: Second 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)

Monday, March 31, 2014

Morning Sitting

Volume 9, Number 4

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

MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2014

The House met at 10:02 a.m.

[Madame Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers.

Orders of the Day

Private Members' Statements

AIR ACCESS

J. Yap: I rise in the House today to speak about Vancouver International Airport — or, as it is known to many travellers, YVR — and the importance of enhanced air access. YVR is a huge economic generator for our province, as well as the major employer in our community, the city of Richmond. YVR provides travellers with easy access to the world, including Latin America, Oceania, Asia, Europe, U.S.A. and Mexico. All members of this House no doubt use YVR on a regular basis.

[R. Chouhan in the chair.]

As well as providing travellers with easy access to the rest of the world, YVR provides unique economic opportunities for our province. YVR is a key piece of the infrastructure of our province.

[1005]

With B.C. being an open economy dependent on trade, YVR is a gateway for our province and, indeed, for Canada. Whether it is tourists seeking to take in our world-class ski hills or golf courses or take in our amazing wilderness ecotours, YVR is the major gateway. Whether it is shipping out seafood, fruits, flowers or any other goods that require air cargo transport, YVR is the major gateway. Whether it is moving business professionals or investors travelling to B.C. and Canada to do business or Canadian business professionals needing to go outside Canada, YVR is the major gateway. There is hardly any sector of our economy that does not benefit from a successful YVR.

Our government is committed to expanding and diversifying B.C.'s markets, bringing inbound investment, creating jobs at home and strengthening our relationships abroad. Expanding markets for B.C. products and services in Asia is a key pillar of our Pacific gateway transportation strategy and Canada Starts Here: The B.C. Jobs Plan.

The Premier has led several trade missions to Asia to promote B.C.'s exports, promoting to existing and potential customers in Asia everything B.C. has to offer — from education to lumber, mining to seafood, tourism and, of course, LNG, our next great industry.

As a key link to our markets, YVR is an innovator in the international community of airports, exporting airport expertise globally, and is a strong ally in our efforts to influence federal aviation policy. YVR is Canada's second-busiest airport. It was named best airport in North America four years in a row. It adds $5 billion in direct GDP to B.C.'s economy.

YVR serves as a vital link to Asia, where there are amazing opportunities for us here in B.C. to the huge economic growth in that region. Between 2001 and 2012 trade with China increased by nearly 650 percent, going from $768 million to $5.75 billion in 2012. For example, Chinese visitors, who are increasing in numbers as China's economy grows, spend an average of $1,600 per person when they visit Canada. With its services and existing connections, YVR is North America's gateway of choice to the Asia-Pacific region, offering the most carriers, destinations and frequencies — 75 every week to China and Hong Kong — of any North American airport.

Our government continues to collaborate with the federal government and YVR to attract new air-passenger and cargo carriers. It is important that we continue to work towards enhanced air access.

In the 2012 B.C. budget the province eliminated the jet fuel tax on international flights, which has attracted more business to YVR and created jobs for British Columbians. Since the elimination of the aviation fuel tax, YVR has entered into agreements with airlines for new international service. As a result, airlines have responded by increasing flights to YVR. Each new daily international service results in the creation of over 150 jobs in the Lower Mainland.

Our government knows that YVR needs to ensure that it remains competitive, as our geography, by itself, is not the only B.C. advantage. Our aviation vision for B.C. — a viable and competitive aviation sector that enables passengers and goods to connect with destinations around the world — is one with YVR as a central component of that vision.

YVR is doing its part delivering on this vision. It has continued to invest in its operations and improve on its services. YVR entered into agreements with 22 airlines for new service, seven of which are international carriers. The capacity for carriers to China has increased 35 percent. A specific example: China Eastern Airlines is one of the biggest airlines in China, with flights to over 856 destinations. Recently China Eastern doubled its Shanghai-to-YVR capacity. Those 470 direct jobs add $27.7 million to provincial GDP.

As Canada's Pacific Gateway, British Columbia understands the crucial need to establish direct competitive air links with key world markets. B.C. continues to call upon Canada to improve air access to ensure that our aviation gateway serves as an economic driver.
[ Page 2550 ]

[1010]

B.C. is working with our partners, including the federal government, to promote opportunities to improve air access and make B.C. more competitive internationally. Enhanced air access will mean more choices in flights, which is more competition and lower airfares.

All members will recall the work of our former Richmond Centre colleague Rob Howard, who reached out to stakeholders and led efforts to encourage our federal partners to continue to enhance air access. This work has been helpful in bringing together a coalition of groups informally referred to as the Open Skies Coalition, including such organizations as the Business Council of B.C., the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, the Aviation Council of B.C., the Tourism Industry Association of B.C., the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and the Gateway Council.

I will now take my place as the member opposite provides some comments.

B. Ralston: We're not allowed to wear buttons in this Legislature, but if I was able to, I'd wear one that says "I love YVR." It's a really excellent institution and really done very well — an important part of our economy in expanding our trade and international outreach, not only to North America but around the world. The organization is set up as a not-for-profit organization, and 100 percent of the earnings are reinvested in the capital infrastructure of the airport itself.

The airport has enjoyed recent success in adding new airlines, as the member has stated. China Southern has added a daily service. China Eastern now has a double daily to Shanghai; Sichuan Airlines, to other destinations in China. Lufthansa has added a daily seasonal flight to the hub in Munich, Germany. Icelandair has added seasonal service to Reykjavik beginning in May, with good connections to Scandinavia, and Virgin Atlantic is increasing to five frequencies a week from four to London. EVA Air is adding an additional weekly frequency to Taiwan. Air Canada is adding more capacity to Beijing, and WestJet is adding a new Encore service to Fort McMurray.

Not only does the airport serve Vancouver and the Lower Mainland; it also is a gateway airport for those other airports throughout the province. So as it expands, it helps the economies and the airports of other parts of our province.

The airport has made a consistent effort, and a successful one, to improve internal service. It has a plan to reduce passenger connection time from 90 minutes to 45 minutes. There's a new high-speed baggage system. There are upgrades to the original 1968 part of the terminal, and it's also enhancing runway safety.

In addition, it has also developed a spinoff business, which is an automated passport reader. It's been so successful that other airports are buying it. It's manufactured for YVR by a company in Coquitlam, and now that company is getting business from other airports throughout North America.

There are some things in the relationship with the federal government that probably require a bit of work in order to further enhance the value that YVR can deliver to British Columbia. In a recent briefing that I had with members of the YVR senior executive, they did point out that there is a travel without visa in order to develop YVR as a hub for flights coming from, particularly, Asia.

The passenger, rather than staying here, goes on to other destinations, particularly in South America. It requires what's called a Transit Without Visa. It's a federal program for approved countries and airlines and airports. Ordinarily, these people would require a visa to pass through British Columbia. It's currently only eligible for select countries. It requires a possession of a U.S. visa for passengers destined to the United States. The hope is to expand that, and certainly, if you look at the success of global hub airports, whether it's Amsterdam or whether it's Munich or Dubai, that is a feature and part of the success of those international airlines.

YVR has ambitious plans to engage in that way, and that's something that the federal government needs, I think, some prodding to consider. I think that work is underway.

[1015]

The other issue where good relations with the federal government would assist in, again, helping YVR meet its goals would be better access to Canadian visa application services.

This also affects our students who apply to come here as foreign students. The visa process and the visa processing centres, particularly in Asia, have been pulled back and some closed down. If it's difficult to get a visa to come to Canada, air travellers might make the decision to go to a destination where it's easier to get a visa and, therefore, not come to Vancouver, to British Columbia and to Canada.

There needs to be an analysis of the needs for visas for citizens of certain countries, and again, YVR is lobbying on that. Certainly, YVR is central to the economy and jobs in British Columbia.

J. Yap: I appreciate the thoughtful comments of the member opposite. The fact is YVR has made progress as our government focuses on growing B.C.'s economy. YVR welcomed almost 18 million people in 2012 and handled 228,000 tonnes of air cargo.

The airport anticipates serving more than 23 million passengers and moving almost 400,000 tonnes of air cargo annually by 2020. Some 23,600 people work at YVR. That's a number equivalent to the entire population of a city the size of Courtenay. And 400 businesses operate at YVR. In total, YVR supports over 61,000 jobs for B.C. residents.
[ Page 2551 ]

There have been increases in travel to YVR in the past year: as of January of this year, 690,600 scheduled international flights, compared to 626,400 flights in 2013, for a 10 percent increase.

There's more good news. As of yesterday, March 30, 2014, All Nippon Airways, ANA, began its new daily non-stop service from Tokyo Haneda Airport to YVR. This flight was ANA's inaugural flight to Canada. ANA's decision to provide this new daily service between Tokyo Haneda Airport and YVR has been made possible by recent liberalization to the Canada's air service agreement with Japan, reinforcing B.C.'s position as North America's gateway of choice for the Asia-Pacific region.

This new service will offer B.C. businesses more options to reach customers in central Tokyo and also throughout Japan and Asia, thanks to ANA's strong domestic and international networks. ANA'S new flight is expected to generate 356 jobs, both at YVR and in B.C.'s hotels, restaurants, shops and tourist attractions, adding to the 1,500 local jobs already created by existing flights to Japan. This ANA flight will generate an estimated $13 million in wages, $7 million in taxes and $21 million in added GDP for the province.

Finally, SkyTrack's World Airport Awards recently named YVR as the number one airport in North America again, for the fifth year in a row. YVR provides British Columbians with many opportunities, and more opportunities can be had through enhanced air access.

With the continued efforts of our government and the support of interested stakeholders such as the Open Skies Coalition, we call on our federal partners to work towards further enhanced air access. This can only be positive for B.C.'s economy and for Canada's economy. As air access increases, there'll be more flight choices, lower airfares and a growing economy for all.

SUPPORTING COMMUNITY COLLEGES
IN THE NORTH

R. Austin: I rise this morning to speak about Northwest Community College and skills training in the northwest. The bedrock of building any new industry in British Columbia is a skilled workforce. Unfortunately, Northwest Community College, which should be the epicentre of training for all the projects proposed and underway in the northwest part of the province, has been woefully under-resourced for a number of years now.

The result is that the costs of projects are skyrocketing, either putting them at risk of continuing or, in cases like the northwest transmission line — which is funded by B.C. Hydro and, thereby, ratepayers — costing taxpayers many, many times what it would have cost to do the training in the first place.

[1020]

Before going into the specifics of projects which are going over budget because of this government's failure to properly fund colleges like Northwest Community College, I'd like to outline a short history of this government's failures on skills training in the northwest.

Things have not gone well since the start of the government's mandate, when the government left a hole in the ground in Prince Rupert for a number of years, rather than keep the promise made by the outgoing government to build a Northwest Community College campus in that community. My former colleague from the north coast used to tell stories about how they would drag a sign saying "Gordon Campbell College" out to the hole in the ground and hold protests over this symbolic gesture of a new building rather than fulfil the commitment to build a new campus.

Years of opportunities were lost because of the time that this government stalled before building that campus. Of course, then after the campus was built, this government never provided the college with sufficient operating funding to make the best of it. That's where we are today, with colleges and universities being asked to slash $40 million from their operating budgets, choking innovation and driving up tuition fees.

I suspect the government speaker on this topic will talk mightily about capital funding, but it needs to be understood that buildings don't train workers. Instructors train workers, and even they can't do that without prosaic things like heat and electricity, which is why the $40 million in cuts to B.C. colleges and universities are so concerning. When all of the college and university presidents take the unprecedented step of writing publicly to the minister that a lack of operational funding will severely deter their ability to achieve the task at hand, you know that things are not well. Yet this government touts their ability to run a modern economy.

The result of this lack of leadership is that B.C.'s families carry some of the highest student debt loads in the country, and too many B.C. workers aren't able to access the skills they need to get good jobs in their own communities.

Currently, there is a boom happening at the Terrace-Kitimat regional airport. While this boom is, in some ways, most welcome, as it is a sure sign things are turning around in a part of B.C. that has been in recession for a long time, it also has a darker side. We still have a rate of unemployment and underemployment that is unacceptable, and at the same time, we witness planeloads of workers coming from elsewhere to fill positions for which our local workforce has not been trained.

Getting back to Northwest Community College specifically, I want to talk about the hundreds of workers from outside B.C. who are working on projects in the communities that I represent while, as I say, many of my constituents are unable to find work that can pay for skyrocketing rents that are directly linked to these temporary workers.

This is a lose-lose situation. My constituents lost an
[ Page 2552 ]
opportunity that will never come again — the opportunity to work on building the new Alcan smelter or the opportunity to work on the northwest transmission line. Now, I'm not suggesting for a moment that locals have not been put to work here, but many more could have been if things were different.

Meanwhile, Rio Tinto Alcan is now struggling with skyrocketing costs that are causing them to have an internal review of their project to identify why it is overbudget and to come to solutions as they complete one of the largest capital projects in British Columbia. Most of those costs are labour-related, and the taxpayers of British Columbia are on the hook for tens of millions of dollars of cost overruns for the northwest transmission line — again, largely because of the high cost of imported skilled labour.

This lose-lose situation was created by this government. In both cases, the government knew for years that these projects were coming down the line, and not one additional cent was spent training the local workers to do these local jobs. While the government spent $17 million telling the people of British Columbia that they had a plan, they didn't plan for the people of the northwest, and today that trend continues.

We see the government say they are going to bring LNG to the northwest. Yet we haven't seen any significant effort to train local people to build that industry. Either this government doesn't believe their LNG plan will succeed or they have no interest in ensuring that communities I represent, some of them with unemployment rates of well over 50 percent, can benefit from these opportunities.

This side of the House has repeatedly expressed our support for the development of the B.C. LNG industry, but we need to see some investment in local people and local communities to see that the full benefit goes to those who will be most impacted by these projects. It takes years to train people to do these jobs. It's nonsensical to wait to invest in skills training until it's too late.

[1025]

In Australia we've seen that the biggest driver of cost overruns on LNG projects is a lack of skilled workers. Skilled labour shortages added hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost of developing the infrastructure needed to export LNG. The single biggest thing we could do to send a strong message to the LNG industry that we are open for business would be to immediately begin providing low-barrier opportunities to underemployed and unemployed workers in the northwest, to improve their skills.

This begins with understanding the large, untapped pool of labour and seeing how people can transition to work, the first step being encouraging upgrading for folks who perhaps did not find immediate success in the school system and who would greatly benefit from jobs that are more practical in nature.

Part of the dismal failure in skills training is that before students enter college, they need a certain level of skills that enable them to take advantage of all that college has to offer. Upgrading is the first step. Once in a program, we need to also demand that companies put in place apprenticeship programs and ensure that government then has the supports in place to ensure the success of these apprenticeships.

Again, this government has drastically changed the Industry Training Authority that has resulted in one of the lowest rates of completion for trades training in the country. By recognizing this failure and altering course, this government can make a difference to all those in the northwest who want, first and foremost, to take advantage of any economic opportunities that may come to fruition in our part of the province.

R. Lee: I would like to respond to the member for Skeena for his statements on supporting community colleges in the north. I think this is a good topic to talk about, especially when we are talking about developing natural gas development in the north.

I was in Prince George recently, just two months ago. I attended the B.C. Natural Resource Forum. In the forum the Premier made quite a few statements at that time. She addressed the forum in Prince George, and she mentioned that our government is spending nearly $2 billion on post-secondary education in British Columbia.

The Premier also made a couple of very valid observations to the forum delegates that I would like to share with members in the House this morning. She said that we need to spend some time actually thinking about where we spend this $2 billion on post-secondary education in our province. For example, do we spend it wisely? Do we spend it effectively? Those are the questions that I'm sure the critic for Natural Gas Development would be interested to hear.

That's why…. Actually, with the Premier's statement, she did quite a bit of positioning already. She appointed the key position in cabinet to be in charge of jobs in this province and the skills and training programs to support our economic growth and development. The Premier says that the Minister of Jobs and Skills Training has the toughest job in government, and that is to make sure that our ten-year jobs and skills-training strategy does what it needs to do.

Our government works with business and private sector labour union leaders — for that matter, also public sector labour union leaders — to map out how we can build a workforce to meet the needs for ten and 20 years from now across all sectors of our economy. Our government is re-engineering our post-secondary and secondary systems so that we are satisfying the needs of the economy. It's a very strong plan and a very sensible approach, for that matter.

The voters in British Columbia understand the import-
[ Page 2553 ]
ance of good-paying jobs for today, security for tomorrow. They support the work our government said it was going to do last spring, because they understand and respect the need to control spending in B.C. and, as well, balance our provincial books.

Our future depends on those jobs and a skills-training strategy and a plan. We're investing in our future through the B.C. jobs plan and its components. Skills training and development is a critical piece of that plan. Meeting the demands for skilled workers is a massive challenge, in fact. The demand for skilled workers in our resource industries grows every year.

British Columbia students and trade school apprentices are hungry. They're hungry for the chance to put their knowledge, skills and motivation to work in their own province.

[1030]

I don't need to remind the House of the role that natural resources have played in the history of B.C. The towns and the villages across northern B.C. were settled by people who helped bring economic prosperity to all British Columbia.

Today northern British Columbians are looking at unprecedented opportunities in the years ahead. With all those projects going on — the construction and also the prosperity of building liquid natural gas plants and pipelines across the province — the skilled workforce is in demand, and there are great opportunities for them to have jobs.

The member opposite mentioned colleges. At Northwest Community College, in fact, we invested quite a bit of resources in terms of building up the skills-training programs. For example, since 2001 we have invested, just through the Advanced Education Ministry, over $25 million in terms of capital investments and, in fact, over $35.4 million as well. Those investments are close to $124,000 to upgrade the welding programs and equipment, as part of the advanced education….

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.

R. Austin: Thanks to the member for Burnaby North for his comments. As I suspected, the government response would be to talk mostly about the capital costs that are invested in our post-secondary system. When the Premier talks about $2 billion being invested this year, that is for the most part capital expenditure and not operational.

I think the challenge here is to recognize that while it's important for us to continue to invest and have buildings and equipment in our college system, what is critical is the ability to have the instructors in place, to have the programs in place to pay for those people to go out there and actually do the job once the capital infrastructure has been put in place. That's really what is missing in the northwest.

I'd like to continue to give a little bit of context. The northwest economy was the only part of British Columbia when, during the good times in the rest of British Columbia…. That's prior to 2008 and the worldwide financial crash. The northwest was the only part that was undergoing severe economic problems. In fact, if you look at the census, you will see that in Prince Rupert, Kitimat and Terrace, population decline happened over a ten-year period.

So we are now, of course, on the cusp of an industrial renewal with a whole bunch of projects going. My pitch here to the government — and I hope they pay attention to this — is that we don't want to not be able to take advantage of all of these projects that are pending. There are several mines.

The government often spends time talking about the northwest as though it is going to be the economic driver of the entire province, just as the northeast, due to oil and gas exploration, has been one of the main economic drivers in the last ten years. If the northwest is to be the economic driver, if we're going to see these projects actually come to fruition, to have final investment decisions — whether it be on mines or whether it be on liquefied natural gas or whether it be on continuing to expand the Port of Prince Rupert — we need to have in place the training required so that people locally take advantage of that.

I often hear the Premier say that any opportunity that takes place in British Columbia should, first of all, benefit British Columbians, then Canadians and then outside workers from outside of this country. I would argue one step further. It should, first of all, benefit those people who live in the communities of the northwest. They should be the ones who get the best benefit at the beginning, and then other British Columbians and then other Canadians.

Otherwise, people cannot support these communities. To just have workers coming in from outside who live in a camp — that's all well and good. It does get the job done. But you know what? The dollars do not revolve around our local economies. They come, they work really hard, they eat, go to sleep, and then their money goes back out to support their families in their home communities.

I really hope that in the intervening years between the final investment decisions and the building of any of these projects, the government recognizes that they have a jewel in Northwest Community College and that they do this.

[1035]

MOTORCYCLE SAFETY

D. Ashton: With spring literally blossoming around us, many British Columbians are starting to think about dusting off their helmets, zipping on their riding gear and heading out on the open road. Spring is the time of year
[ Page 2554 ]
for enjoying gardens in full bloom, spending time outside with our families and taking advantage of the climate that makes British Columbia beautiful and draws visitors from across Canada and around the world.

It is no wonder that motorcyclists want to get out and travel, see the incredible vistas, experience the wonderful roads that we have in this province and visit some of our unique communities.

Since 1894, when German inventors Hildebrand and Wolfmüller invented what was known to be the first motorcycle, the love of motorcycling has captivated millions of people who seek to enjoy the beauty around us in a uniquely enjoyable way. I am one of those individuals who enjoy this incredible experience, and I am not alone.

In 2012 there were more than 100,000 motorcycles and mopeds insured in British Columbia. This number continues to grow every year, as more and more people begin to experience the joys of life on two and sometimes three wheels. Whether it's an adventurist MLA from Penticton out for a Sunday ride on his KTM or a retired couple on a Sunday ride on their vintage BMW, motorcyclists of all stripes also bring many benefits to our communities.

Motorcyclists of all varieties are a benefit to businesses throughout the Okanagan and, in fact, all of British Columbia. Just like other road travellers, riders use services along the roads and highways. They buy fuel, stop for meals, stay in hotels and campgrounds. They visit museums, parks and use community amenities.

Motorcycle adventure travel can boost tourism in local economies. Businesses — including campgrounds, hotels, restaurants and tour operators — stand to benefit from increased travel throughout the area. The Okanagan is one of Canada's most popular motorcycle destinations, and every year hundreds of BMW owners from all over North America descend on the West Kootenays for three days.

Whether on mountain, Interior or coastal roads, there are spectacular motorcycle adventures waiting to be had in British Columbia. For example, the Thompson-Okanagan explorer route, which is No. 4, offers incredible vistas spanning 640 kilometres, providing a dynamic circle loop through Kamloops, Vernon, Rock Creek, Osoyoos, Princeton and Merritt. On this route, like with many others in the region, motorcycles will travel along rivers, lakes, valleys and past orchards, vineyards and mountain vistas.

There is also fantastic riding in the Kootenays, the Rockies, north in the Chilcotin and the Cariboo. For the more adventurous, there's always the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, which can lead you to Whitehorse, Dawson City and as far north as Alaska or Inuvik in the Northwest Territories, for those who are interested. I have been there, and I can tell you it's an absolutely stunning ride.

Okanagan riders are also known that they are very giving. Over a number of years motorcycle riders and associations in the Okanagan have organized fundraising events and gathered donations for youth, recreation, health and for social service organizations. Events include toy runs, and rides for prostate cancer awareness and research. Not only do motorcyclists contribute to our economy; they also contribute to our communities.

In my riding of Penticton, the Okanagan Motorcycle Riders Association supports local charities and in 2013 was awarded with the volunteer of the year award for the Okanagan Motorcycle Ride for Dad, a prostate cancer and awareness charity that has raised more than $13 million nationally for prostate cancer awareness and research. The Okanagan Motorcycle Ride for Dad will be holding its annual fundraiser event this June 8. If anybody is interested, there's always a place behind me on my motorcycle, if somebody from this House would like to accompany me.

Unfortunately, riding a motorcycle is not all sunny days and well-paved and winding roads. Motorcycling comes with a unique set of risks. In British Columbia during the past five-year period, an average of 37 motorcyclists were killed each year. This happens because motorcyclists are less likely to be seen by other drivers and more likely to be killed in the event of an accident. Our goal is to reduce fatalities and injuries from crashes involving motorcycles.

While motorcyclists are estimated to make up about 3 percent of the insured vehicles in British Columbia, they account for approximately 10 percent of the road fatalities. In the past five years 203 motorcyclists have lost their lives on B.C. roads, and 5,172 of them have been injured.

[1040]

Motorcycle fatalities increased by about 57 percent between 1996 and 2010. This serves as a reminder to motorcyclists and drivers alike: please be aware, share the road, and watch your speed. It is important to make sure that other road users are aware of motorcyclists and know ways to keep them safe. Just like the bumper sticker, we in this House believe that motorcyclists should be seen, not hurt.

C. Trevena: I rise to respond to my colleague from Penticton's statement about motorcycles. I have to say that I'm in awe of him if he has cycled up the Dempster Highway. As a driver going up the Dempster Highway on the most fantastic road going up the Stewart-Cassiar and then up through Yukon and on to the Northwest Territories that way, I didn't see any motorcyclists, so I am in awe if he has done that.

As the member quite rightly says, this is the time of year when people start getting out on their bikes. In my own constituency a favourite road for cyclists is Highway 28, which wends from Campbell River out to Gold River. It's 84 kilometres of winding road, really stunningly beautiful, by the lakes, the Upper Campbell Lake and others, cutting through the mountains — stunning road.
[ Page 2555 ]
It's really a draw for bikers, and I know we see a lot of bikers there.

There is also that question of biker safety and the concerns either of bikers going too fast or of drivers of vehicles not seeing the bikers on narrow, winding roads. Really, you have the potential for an accident about to happen.

I think this is really where I would like to focus my remarks — the fact that while biking is a great opportunity for many, many people, there is the question of how safe it is for some. For young people, they're attracted to motorbikes because they are fast, they are exciting, and they give that sense of liberation. You're out on your own. You're not trapped within a car. You have that space. It's easier to get a licence.

We know that young people are more likely to take risks and more likely to push themselves than older people. At the other end of the spectrum, you tend to see people on the bikes who sort of go from your young age, when you want to get out on a bike. You get to the stage where you're having a family, you get your family wagon, and you get much more sedate. You hit middle age, and you start wanting to get back on a bike, so you get the older riders too.

I have friends of mine, both male and female, who have hit their 50s and decided this was a time to actually go and buy that Harley or go and buy that bike, and they're now off touring. When you get older and you make that…. In fact, friends of mine did suggest when I turned 50 that I, too, should get a bike and go out touring, but I declined that offer, because I'm very aware of the risks. When you get that bit older your reactions are slower, you are having to think more, and you really may not be able to react in the circumstances.

I say this because the member for Penticton quite rightly said that the number of bikes on the road is small compared to the number of cars, but the proportion of accidents including bikers is much higher. This is, I think, attributable to a number of reasons. One is that, as I say, it's often young people going fast or older people going slow, but it's also the drivers themselves, the car drivers who are not aware of the biker there on the road, who don't see the biker coming, who are not paying that much attention.

There is also the problem…. As a car driver myself who drives an awful lot around this province, sometimes the cyclists are just using the ability — because they're on two wheels and can get in and out of traffic more easily, as they perceive it — to come in and to pass on the inside. I don't know how many people have had that happen to them, but it's a very frightening experience as a driver to see a biker coming in on your inside to pass.

As we do go into the season when people are getting out on their bikes — May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month; it's when people are getting more onto their bikes, getting out into the community — it's very incumbent on all of us, as drivers, to be aware of motorcyclists, but it's also for the cyclists themselves to be aware that drivers are not always looking out for them, that they are just too often distracted.

We know how many drivers use their cell phones when they're driving, when they shouldn't be doing it, who are sometimes — a terrible thought — texting when they are driving or are just distracted, putting on a CD, listening to some music, not concentrating, and a motorcyclist is much more vulnerable.

[1045]

I would hope as we go into spring that people really do look around them for motorcyclists.

The government has introduced various new legislation in the last number of years on motorcycle safety. While that is very important, I think you've also got to remember that you've got to be listening to the motorcyclists themselves. They're the ones who use it. One of the issues is where the motorcyclists stand on their pegs. That has been banned now, although many motorcyclists say that's important — to be able to stretch and to be able to see in the distance.

I thank the member for introducing this and look forward to his closing remarks.

D. Ashton: I'm thrilled to hear the hon. member for North Island across the way speak with such passion for motorcycling in British Columbia. I would like to note that our government takes motorcycle safety very seriously. We've taken steps to increase motorcycle safety through awareness, through changes in the laws regarding helmet and seat regulations and also to what the member across the way noted about standing on pegs, which is important.

I'd also like to point out that despite the increased risk of riding motorcycles, the five-year sample for motorcycle fatalities has shown a downward trend, as have trends of fatal motorcycle victims in proportion to all fatal victims of accidents. We can assist this downward trend by continuing to spread safety awareness and the appropriate changes to rules of the road.

To that end, I would like to speak particularly to British Columbia drivers and would like to remind them that motorcycle riders are similar to cyclists and pedestrians. They don't have the protection of an external frame, seatbelts or bumpers, and they are sometimes quite difficult to see, so some principles or reminders need to be stated about how to avoid collisions.

Be aware to check your mirrors frequently, and be aware of the road conditions that pose hazards to motorcyclists. Look carefully for traffic at intersections. It can be difficult to judge the speed and distance of a motorcyclist, so be extra cautious, especially when turning left. Watch for clues. Watch for signs such as turn signals, shoulder checks or leaning, signalling that the rider may be turning or changing lanes.
[ Page 2556 ]

Share the road. Motorcyclists use a full lane. Leave at least three seconds' following distance behind each motorcycle. Be courteous. Acknowledge riders with a wave or eye contact, give the riders the space they need to change lanes, and never try and pass a motorcyclist in the same lane. By following these reminders, you can help reduce the number of collisions involving motorcyclists and ultimately save lives.

In closing, I would like to thank the hon. member again for her comments and would like to encourage her to get out this year and enjoy the open road. While she's doing so, perhaps she could support one of the many charitable events on Vancouver Island: the west coast motorcycle ride to live for Vancouver Island in Victoria, June 1; the 13th annual Nanaimo Poker Run on June 7; the Comox Valley Motorcycle Ride for Dad in Courtenay on June 14; the Sooke Lions Poker Run in Sooke on July 27; the sixth annual Cumberland Motorcycle Roundup on August 9; and the 30th annual Port Alberni Toy Run on September 13th, by Little Qualicum Falls.

Once again to the member opposite: thank you again for your input. It was greatly appreciated, and I do hope to see you out on the road sometime.

THE VALUE OF FAMILY COURTS

K. Corrigan: It goes without saying that going to family court in British Columbia can be very difficult for those involved — women and men, and their children sometimes. To quote a recent West Coast LEAF report: "Given the significance of the issues at stake — custody of children, fair division of property and support obligations, and protection from violence, to name just a few — the importance of ensuring that everyone has access to the assistance they need in order to assert their legal rights should be obvious."

That is why it is particularly concerning that it is taking significantly longer to get a family court ruling on issues like those mentioned, in addition to child protection cases. As the Ministry of Justice 2012 service plan said: "Timeliness of family cases is an indicator of an effective civil and family justice system." What are the disturbing facts? In 2012-13 it took a median of 105 days to get a ruling in family court. A year later it is expected to take 128 days.

[1050]

One would have expected that the response to this would be a comprehensive effort to improve the system and to understand and correct the problem. Instead, unfortunately, the response has been to change the goalposts.

The target was 89 days to get a ruling. Presumably, this was arrived at with some thought as to what would be effective and fair to litigants and would represent an acceptable amount of time to get an order. Now, however, the target has been increased by 43 percent to 127 days to reflect the increasing amount of time it takes to get a ruling.

Essentially, the target is now what the system is actually doing, which is a long 128 days, in median time, to get a ruling in family court. It almost sounds like government has given up on this measure, which is important.

Unfortunately, as well, the minister doesn't seem to know why the family court is taking longer. One of the reasons, I believe, is that there is — and I've certainly heard this from many lawyers and others in the justice system — an increased number of self-represented litigants, people going to court and representing themselves. Perhaps that would be a better thing to measure, if we're unsure how the present measurement works or whether it is effective.

Why do we have an increased number of people representing themselves, and what does that mean? Well, first, it may seem obvious, but lawyers are expensive and, increasingly, beyond the means of many people. Some people start out with family lawyers but have to drop them partway through proceedings because they simply run out of money. Some don't have enough money to pay for a lawyer to start with.

When surveyed, virtually all British Columbians believe that in family court matters, people should have proper access to legal advice, but legal aid is not available to many. In fact, family law legal aid is only available in what are described as serious family situations. Property division and divorce cases are not covered, even when there is violence in the relationship.

In addition, legal aid is not available to a single parent with one child if their income is over $2,070 per month. That means that that single parent making $25,000 a year who needs a protection order from a violent ex-spouse will likely end up going to court by themselves.

This can affect both men and women, but the report from LEAF suggests that women requiring legal help in family matters most often find themselves on the short end of the stick when it comes to obtaining legal aid funding and gaining access to other kinds of legal assistance. That's a paraphrase of what West Coast LEAF said. Both men and women, but disproportionately women, are affected.

One recent study estimates that 50 percent of family law litigants across Canada are under-represented. That's in Birnbaum's study. This is not just a B.C. problem. But again, because we're not measuring in British Columbia, I don't believe…. I certainly haven't seen it publicly. We're not measuring the percentage of people who are self-represented. We just don't know how serious the problem is.

What are the outcomes of going to family court without a lawyer? The Canadian Bar Association in a report called Reaching Equal Justice in November of 2013 said: "Judges, lawyers and litigants were united in the belief that unrepresented litigants fare worse in court and experience poorer outcomes compared to those who have ac-
[ Page 2557 ]
cess to lawyers." Also, in this large survey, the conclusion from the Canadian Bar Association was: "Both judges and lawyers expressed particular concerns about the inequalities experienced by self-represented litigants who were victims of domestic violence."

In addition, court and agency staff work under enormous pressures in dealing with this growing self-represented litigants population and constantly changing court forms and procedures. These are very stressful jobs. The Canadian Bar Association also notes that service providers universally recognize the frustration of self-represented litigants as a source of pressure on the justice system in general and on court staff and judicial officers in particular. This pressure on staff, on the system, causes the system to slow down.

[1055]

You also have serious implications for that self-represented litigant in attempting to access the justice system. They don't have adequate information, assistance, representation and accommodation by the court system. These implications can include serious personal health issues; financial consequences, including giving up work to prepare for their court cases or interference with their employment; social isolation due to the toll of navigating the justice system; and a failing faith — and I think this is very important — in the justice system.

Lawyers have also said that it adds a level of volatility to the system. Lawyers have expressed concern about going into a court with litigants who are already dealing with a very stressful situation, dealing with their family's future or with serious financial implications.

J. Martin: On behalf of my constituents of Chilliwack, I'm very pleased to address the value of family courts. As you well know, we opened this session of the Legislature with the second consecutive balanced budget. Balancing the budget is one of the most family-friendly undertakings a government can take. Well, at a time when there are many pressures on government to address a broad range of needs, through fiscal prudence we now have enough spending room to make strategic investments in the court system to better serve families across this province.

The administration of justice needs investment in bricks and mortar as much as it needs support for vital program spending. Access to specialized courts, such as family court, relies on courtroom capacity.

[D. Horne in the chair.]

For example, in my riding of Chilliwack we had our new courthouse built some 15 years ago, and population growth is already placing heavy demands on the family court system. Well, this government recognizes this and recently announced a long-term plan to add an additional 29 new courtrooms.

In April 2013 the government signed a memorandum of understanding with the cities of Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Langley. This identified both our long-term and short-term goals. The goal is to provide B.C. families in the Fraser Valley and in Chilliwack with greater access to court services and shortened wait times.

It is not just family court services that will be improved. Other specialized court services, such as criminal and youth court, will also be expanded. So will small claims and bylaw services. All of these different courts are created to address specific challenges in the justice system. We want to take a modern, more effective approach than simply relying on traditional justice models.

This isn't simply a talking point. We can turn to Surrey mayor Dianne Watts for her comments. She says: "The expansion of courtrooms and upgrade of technological infrastructure supports the recommendations of our city's crime reduction strategy." That's the whole point of improving court services. It is an integral part of a comprehensive approach to crime reduction, and it makes places like Surrey and Chilliwack safer communities to live, work and raise families in.

As I said earlier, bricks and mortar are just part of the equation. When you build more courtrooms, you have to support those facilities with human resources too. British Columbia currently has 21 Family Justice Centres operating throughout the province to assist people going through separation or divorce. Each centre is staffed by accredited family justice counsellors who are specially trained to help families with parenting arrangements, guardianship and other support issues.

No one plans to go through a separation or divorce, but I know British Columbians would appreciate knowing that there is support and help available in a time when they may need it most.

It was this government that modernized legislation and brought in the Family Law Act just last year to help guide families after separation, including decisions about children, property division and other kinds of support.

The government is also looking at new innovations. Just last October British Columbia opened our third justice access centre. In 2012 more than 10,000 clients received service, many of them coming back multiple times to address and deal with ongoing legal issues.

I do wish I had more time, but I do thank the hon. member for raising the importance of our family court system and highlighting the services available to British Columbians and the types of important investments the government is making and continues to make to improve court access.

[1100]

K. Corrigan: I thank the member for Chilliwack for the response to my statement. I'm pleased to hear that the member is happy about investments that are going to be made in bricks and mortar. I'm not sure that's go-
[ Page 2558 ]
ing to help the individuals that are in the court system now who need access to justice, need legal aid and are not getting that.

I would point out that we had a courthouse in my community that was closed down by this government early in its mandate, a courthouse that has been closed down and still sits there, despite the city of Burnaby offering to cover many of the costs associated with running that courthouse, recognizing that it was going to create huge inefficiency and pressure upon my community.

I would also point out that the member who just spoke talked in 2012 and accused the Provincial Court system of being a catch-and-release system and complained about the fact that courts have been shut down and that prosecutions are failing because of the length of time it takes to get to court.

I would like to reiterate in my final minute or two that one of the most important negative fallouts of these inordinate wait times for family court is that our justice system is being brought into disrepute. The irony is that many have suggested that it is almost certainly costing B.C. more to deny lower-income people legal aid than it would to adequately fund it. Those that can afford lawyers are working within a system that's very difficult, which increases those legal costs as they contend with, for example, court postponements, adjournments, as they have to spend an inordinate amount of time as those without counsel try to navigate the systems.

Settling within a reasonable length of time also allows people just to get on with their lives, and making sure they have counsel is the right thing to do. Lack of representation by counsel, I think, is part of a larger problem: an increasing number of people apparently without voice or representation in our society.

To sum up, we have a substantial increase in the amount of time it takes to get an order in family court. The ministry doesn't know why. The response is to change the target rather than fix the problem. This lack of timeliness is taking a toll on families, including children, and is particularly concerning in the case of domestic violence. It's taking a toll on court staff. It's more difficult for lawyers and for judges as they deal, particularly, with the complications of an increasing number of people forced to represent themselves in court.

I'm going to be attending the spring Justice Summit, which is going to focus on the family court system, and I'm sure that the issue of court overcrowding will be a central area of discussion.

Hon. S. Anton: I call private members' motion….

Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, unanimous consent of the House is required to proceed with Motion 11 without disturbing the priorities of motions preceding it on the order paper.

Leave granted.

Private Members' Motions

MOTION 11 — JOB PROTECTION AND
SUPPORT FOR MINING INDUSTRY

M. Morris: I'm pleased to rise in this House and move the following.

[Be it resolved that this House protect and preserve jobs for current and future generations by supporting B.C.’s mining industry.]

The mining industry holds a wealth of economic opportunity for British Columbia. Today we have 19 operating mines compared with 15 operating mines in 2001. Mining employs more than 30,000 British Columbians across 50 communities. The average salary is more than $120,000 a year.

In addition to mining sites providing jobs, there are more than 800 mining companies located in downtown Vancouver. Mining also employs more First Nations than any other industry in British Columbia. British Columbia is also the first province to share revenues from new mines with First Nations. We currently have ten revenue-sharing agreements covering five operating mines.

Since 2001 our government has reduced taxes and taken measures to create the investment climate needed for a prosperous mining industry. We have lowered our corporate income tax rates from 16.5 to 11 percent. We have eliminated corporate capital taxes for resource industries like mining. We have extended the new mine allowance, providing the equivalent of 133.3 percent deduction of capital costs for mines starting or expanding production before January 1, 2016.

[1105]

We have extended the B.C. mining flow-through share tax credit to December 31, 2014, keeping the after-tax cost of eligible grass-roots exploration the second lowest in Canada, encouraging continued interest in investment in B.C. We've extended the B.C. mining exploration tax providing companies with a 20 percent refundable tax credit. An enhanced rate of 30 percent is available for qualified mineral exploration in prescribed mountain pine beetle–affected areas.

Since 2011 three new mines have opened, valued at almost $2.7 billion in capital cost — Mount Milligan, New Afton and Copper Mountain — creating 1,195 new jobs. Mount Milligan mine, located 156 kilometres northwest of Prince George between Fort St. James and Mackenzie, began production this past August. This $1.5 billion project created 1,000 jobs during the construction and employs over 350 people. It's the first greenfield mine in British Columbia in more than ten years which produces copper, gold and silver.

Resource-based communities rely on the direct jobs that the resource sector provides. The New Prosperity mine meant hundreds of new high-paying, long-term
[ Page 2559 ]
jobs for families in the Cariboo region. This is particularly important because these communities have been immensely effected by the pine beetle epidemic.

The federal government's decision was disappointing. We've maintained this project can be built to mitigate the identified environmental risks, and if for some reason it can't, the mine would not be permitted. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has invited the company to resubmit another proposal that addresses the government's concerns. We now wait to hear from the company on what their plans are to respond.

While we work to cultivate opportunities in the mining sector, our government understands the importance of mitigating environmental risks. More than 20 major mines and expansions are currently in the environmental assessment or permitting process.

This year three more mines will open — Yellow Giant, Red Chris and Roman — creating 850 new long-term jobs in total. That's great news for B.C. families. There are also currently seven major mine expansions underway. Extending the life of those mines will sustain more than 3,000 existing jobs and create 300 new jobs.

In closing, the worldwide demand for coal, metals and industrial minerals has risen and is expected to further increase with the urbanization occurring in India and China. B.C. is well positioned to benefit from these global demands, with an abundance of coal, metals and minerals, a highly skilled workforce and the world's largest concentration of mining and exploration companies.

We believe in getting to yes on economic development. That means supporting our mining industry by protecting and preserving jobs for current and future British Columbians.

S. Fraser: I'm pleased that the member for Prince George–Mackenzie moved this motion. The mining industry is, of course, essential to the economy. It helped build the economy of this province and is still essential for the future economy of this province. I don't disagree with the member at all in that initial submission.

However, the nature of the motion is to protect and preserve the jobs for future generations. That's a big problem. Currently we rank 11th in Canada for attractiveness to mining investment. That's behind every other jurisdiction in the country except Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. That is a big problem.

We know that the Fraser Institute report just recently released found policy uncertainty to be a key deterrent to investment in the province. Uncertainty deters investors by increasing risk for investors as it decreases their confidence in being able to recoup and profit from investments.

We know for a fact that the gutting of the provincial environmental assessment process in 2003 plays a big part in that. That uncertainty and inconsistency is glaring in the province of British Columbia. The member mentions the Prosperity mine. Well, twice now it has failed completely in the federal environmental assessment, while the provincial environmental assessment gave it two thumbs up. That kind of inconsistency brings nothing but uncertainty to the industry.

[1110]

We've seen it before. Morrison mine up north — the provincial environmental assessment gave it thumbs-up and the province turned it down. Boss Power — that cost $30 million to pay out of court for this government just removing the notice-of-work permit, which led to litigation. I believe there's continued litigation going on with the Morrison mine too. These kinds of inconsistencies in policy are just the death knell for the industry.

I would suggest, also, that the implementing of brand-new taxes on the front end of the industry that are being proposed right now by this government and this minister are, again, a contradiction, shall I say, from what the Premier was saying, walking around the province telling everybody: "no new taxes." New taxes foisted on the very front end of the industry will be from $2,000 to $300,000. They're being foisted on the front end of the industry — so the prospectors, those with claims, placer miners. This will be a very big problem for them.

I would note that Jason Jacob, the president of the East Kootenay Chamber of Mines, in Cranbrook, and vice-president of the Placer Miners Association, said about the new taxes which the Premier says don't exist that they would be the death knell for the grass-roots prospectors. He said the taxes would run many off their claims and out of business.

As far as the future goes, this is the future of mining in the province. It's those small operators, those small businesses, that are being betrayed here. They're the ones that are on the ground, that are finding the mineral deposits, and if they go to assay, they're often working on a $2,000-a-year budget. And $2,000 for a small operator on a claim will shut them down, as the president of the East Kootenay Chamber of Mines has stated so eloquently. So how the member can be lauding this government's records….

As we all know in this place, the major controlling factor for whether mines open or not is based on international commodity prices. We have very little, if no, control at the provincial level on these things. When it comes to the regulatory regime that's foisting new taxes, this government foisting new taxes, on the front end of the industry, it'll be a big, big problem for this industry and the future and future generations — very shortsighted in many ways.

I would also note that the new taxes are supposed to be dealing with a backlog of permitting issues. This government brought the permitting backlog up to 110 days by 2010 and just before the last election threw some money at it, brought it back down to 2007 levels and then took credit for that as some kind of a win for the government.
[ Page 2560 ]
It was not.

D. Plecas: I applaud the member opposite for his support of the mining industry.

I'm pleased today to be talking on behalf of my constituents in Abbotsford South on the motion made by my colleague on this side of the House the member for Prince George–Mackenzie, specifically: "Be it resolved that this House protect and preserve jobs for current and future generations by supporting the B.C. mining industry."

The history of this province is defined by money. Virtually everything we build, whether it be roads, hospitals, schools or bridges, those things are paid for through our mining, resource extraction. We all know it's a long, long history going back to the mid-1800s. As a consequence of that and since then, we have mining activity throughout the province. As a result, today we have literally hundreds of communities that have been settled throughout British Columbia simply because of mining.

[1115]

In fact, whilst the member opposite has made it clear that he's supportive of the mining industry, it's not clear that it matches entirely to the history of the NDP's attitude towards mining in this province. That's despite the fact, let's remember, that we have 30,000 British Columbians who work in over 50 different communities in the mining industry. The average salary for those people is over $50,000 a year.

I'm reminded that even one of the opposition's distinguished former members, who once served as an MLA for New Westminster and a federal Member of Parliament, Dawn Black, urged her own party to embrace mining and resource development in an opinion piece she offered just recently in January in the Vancouver Sun. She called upon the NDP to re-examine its own history and reflect on how we generate wealth in this province.

In 2012 alone the mining industry here was worth $9 billion. That industry generated $500 million in government revenue to pay for things we need — badly need — like education, health care, vital social programs. We have every intention to grow this.

In 2012, for example, we saw $680 million spent on mining exploration in this province. That's nearly a fifth of all exploration spent in Canada. Back in the days of the NDP…. They spent just $29 million on exploration — a paltry $29 million — versus our $680 million today. That's less than 1/20 of what was spent in 2012. Indeed, that $29 million represented just 6 percent of all investment in Canada on mining exploration, and that's versus 19 percent today under our government.

Let's be honest. We all know how important mining is to this province. We all know how important those jobs are. We should also consider the hundreds of jobs the mining industry has in head offices throughout the Lower Mainland.

It's the goal of this government to see that the mining industry sets itself on the world stage. We want to be the world leader in mining. Members of this House are not afraid to say yes to economic development. We're not squeamish when it comes to supporting mineral and mining exploration in B.C.

The fact is the mining industry in B.C. is one of the best run and most environmentally responsible industries in the world. It is the reason we committed $24 million to cut backlogs in government permits and foster mineral exploration.

Let's look at the progressive social benefits of the mining industry as well. In British Columbia mining companies engaged First Nations with revenue-sharing agreements, which provide new sources of revenue for many local communities. In B.C. revenue-sharing agreements already cover five mining operations: Copper Mountain, Highland Valley, New Afton, Mount Milligan and Mount Polley. In fact, mining employs more First Nations than any other industry in this province, and B.C. is the first province to feature revenue-sharing agreements.

If I may, I'll conclude by emphasizing again the critical role mining plays in helping us pay for the services that we need.

D. Routley: Of course this side of the House supports mining and exploration. We have a long history of supporting those industries. In fact, what we see on the other side of the House, again, is policy by slogan, policy by words and credit taken where credit is not due.

The member who spoke before took credit on behalf of his government for the exploration investments of the private sector in mining. In fact, in 1990 the value of copper per pound was $1. In 1994 it was 80 cents. In 1999 it was less than 70 cents.

Then China came to the table. China is responsible for over 40 percent of global consumption of copper, and the price went up. That's why the exploration dollars were invested by companies — not because of this government's policies but because of world markets.

[1120]

In 2004 it had doubled to $1.50. In 2008 it was around about $4 — a 500 percent increase in ten years. In 2009 it was at $1.70, after falling with the economic shock of 2008, but it recovered in 2012 to a 550 percent increase at $4.50 per pound. Currently it's at a 400 percent increase over what it was at the end of the '90s at $3.25. That consumption level is expected to double in China by 2030. So we can see that the trend is for greater consumption.

Copper has long been seen as the most reliable commodity indicator of global economic health. What we have seen is a prediction of what would be needed in terms of the workforce of this province. The government tries to take credit for world markets encouraging investment in the mining industry in B.C., but what they need
[ Page 2561 ]
to take credit for is actually decimating the infrastructure that B.C. needed to respond to that demand.

What has happened? Well, ten years ago this government dismantled…. That's too polite a word, too polite a phrase. They actually blew up, they gutted,they decimated and they tore apart our skills-training system so that our Red Seal completions in this province have plummeted to a record low of 34 percent. That's how the government prepared for what was a predictable boom in demand for copper in this province.

In 2012 the industry brought $8.3 billion to this province — exploration investments, $680 million. That was a 47 percent increase over the previous year. That, again, was driven by world markets, not by the policies of this government.

The government needs to provide the infrastructure to support the industry. Instead, what they've done is undermine that. Now there's a knee-jerk reaction to respond to that failure by relying on imported temporary foreign workers, the HD Mining scandal being the worst example of that.

What they have done is spent $17 million of public money advertising their jobs plan. They have ignored the experience in Australia, where the LNG industry is currently contracting because of a lack of skilled labour and the increasing cost of acquiring skilled labour. They ignore their own experience on the northwest transmission line, where it is hundreds of millions of dollars — I believe $380 million — over budget. The managers of that project point to a lack of skilled and trained workers as the main driver of cost overruns on that project.

Rather than looking to the long term ten years ago and seeing that what we needed to do was provide upgrading to the people of B.C. so that they could acquire the skills training that was needed and is needed now in order for British Columbians to take these jobs, instead, they decimated those programs.

The jobs plan of this government on its website, on mining, doesn't even mention training. It doesn't even mention it. This is the number one challenge that the government should be meeting. Instead, they stand here and take credit. "This government invested $500 million in mining exploration." No, Member. Private companies did that because of world markets.

What your government has done is decimate the infrastructure needed to allow British Columbians to benefit from that demand. That is a tragedy. We have also ignored First Nations, and that is another story that I'm sure other members will pick up.

D. Barnett: It should be no surprise to this House that I am a strong supporter of mining in British Columbia. Therefore, I am pleased today to rise to support, on behalf of my constituents of the Cariboo-Chilcotin, the motion by the member for Prince George–Mackenzie.

[1125]

Worldwide demand for metals and industrial minerals has increased and is expected to rise even more with the significant urbanization taking place in China and India and the great job done by our government in opening the doors for British Columbia resource extraction to help them move their countries forward. B.C. is well positioned to benefit from these global demands, with vast reserves of coal, metals, and minerals, a highly skilled workforce and investment into infrastructure to facilitate overseas exports. And it's home to the world's largest concentration of mining and exploration companies.

The British Columbia mining industry is a success story. Today we have 19 operating mines — nine coal and ten metal. It is one of our most important job creation sectors, with more than 30,000 British Columbians in 50 communities working in the mining industry, earning an average salary of more than $120,000 a year. There are currently seven major mine expansions underway, extending mine life, sustaining more than 3,000 existing jobs and creating 300 new jobs.

One such success story of mine expansion includes the Gibraltar mine expansion, extending the life of the copper and molybdenum mine to 2039. The Gibraltar mine expansion was a $325 million project that provided 520 jobs in 2012 and now employs 200-plus more in 2014.

This mine is in the riding of Cariboo North. My riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin is a great supporter, and many people live in my riding that work in this mine. However, as we all know, even with these expansions, we need to keep a balance to protect our pristine environment and keep the beauty of our land intact so that we can enjoy it for years to come.

A strong mining industry stimulates economic growth and creates spinoff effects, creating indirect investments in jobs that extend beyond the mines themselves. Mining diversifies local economies, providing communities with better certainty and longevity and increasing economic development in other sectors like mining, forestry and tourism.

Mining means greater infrastructure training and opportunity in smaller communities that depend on much-needed jobs. Mining creates jobs and supports services like health care, education and transportation infrastructure that we all depend on. The mining and mineral exploration industries boost diverse sectors of B.C.'s economy, including trucking, trades, machinery, rail, equipment and maintenance, which in turn support other sectors like the restaurant, hospitality, recreation and service industries.

Finally, I must mention a project that I fought so hard for that meant new jobs and opportunity for the Cariboo-Chilcotin: the New Prosperity project. New Prosperity meant and still does mean hundreds of high-paying jobs, opportunities for our First Nations communities and revenue-sharing for our First Nations communities, and we will continue to pursue this opportunity.
[ Page 2562 ]

I find it very difficult to believe that my colleagues across the floor support mining when they said no to this project before the environmental assessment review committee had even come to the table. I am disappointed in this, as is the majority of my community, but we will continue to work together with our First Nations, with our communities, with our private sector and with our government to support good jobs for families in this province, throughout Canada and in the Cariboo-Chilcotin.

M. Elmore: I'm very pleased to rise and speak on the motion, to talk about the importance of the mining sector in supporting jobs in British Columbia. Certainly, it's recognized, I think, on both sides of the House — the importance of the mining industry in British Columbia in generating many billions of dollars of revenue here, in contributing to the economy of British Columbia as well as tens of thousands of direct jobs and many more in terms of indirect jobs — not only family-supporting and community-supporting jobs — and also the importance of those contributions to supporting local communities right across the province.

[1130]

Also, particularly for the member for Abbotsford South, I think a brief history lesson in terms of the development of mining in our province is in order. Certainly, since the mid-1800s British Columbia has actually been one of the major producers of the mining regions around the world, here on Vancouver Island with the coal-mining industry — the history of that. Then we know that in the 1850s the mining gold rush certainly opened that up.

Since then to today, we're really seeing, particularly with dependence on the global pricing of commodity markets, the expansion of our mining sector, particularly with our Canadian cordillera, the mountain belt rich in minerals, coal, and supporting many exports — copper, gold, silver, lead, zinc, molybdenum, coal and a number of industrial minerals. It's an important contributor to our province's growth and development.

When we look at the importance of mines, often mines are located in our rural areas, but there's impact and spinoffs and support to our urban centres in terms of head offices that are held there, support of engineering firms. We really see that value-added from the rural base to our urban centres right across the province. Certainly, there's the understanding of that.

In terms of the challenges today, the mining industry recognizes the importance of social licence in terms of the success of the industry. I think also characterizing that is the importance…. I wanted to mention that the mining industry in British Columbia really is a world leader, renowned for the state-of-the-art reclamation projects and remedial activities, which also, I think, feeds into the success of the industry and the integration of what mining means in British Columbia, in terms of sustainable long-term jobs, with an environmental lens on that.

When we look at challenges for the sector and the need to support and enable the mining industry, there are roles that the government can play as required in terms of leadership that we need to see, particularly on the issue of support for investment in skills training and apprenticeships and trades. There's a need in terms of greater investment, and we've seen cuts to those programs, which really holds back the mining industry. We've heard that from many companies.

As well, we need to see action from the government around leadership in terms of First Nations consultation. This is an area that should be led by the government, and it's put onto industry. This is something that we need to see change and can also support and really encourage the expansion of mining.

As well, we've heard about the backlog of permitting and these matters that are impeding. We've heard from many mining companies around going forward with projects. These are areas where I think there needs to be attention. There needs to be leadership. We're not seeing it from the government, and it's really undermining, I think, the success of the mining sector and recognizing the importance of the mining industry to our economy.

These are areas where I'm hopeful that the government can really show some initiative addressing these longstanding structural challenges and show support for mining and recognize the importance that it plays in our economy here in British Columbia, that it has played historically. We see the benefits right across the province in all regions, many communities, and we'll be seeing that in the future.

J. Tegart: I'm pleased to rise today on behalf of my constituents of Fraser-Nicola to speak to the following motion."Be it resolved that this House protect and preserve jobs for current and future generations by supporting B.C.'s mining industry."

[1135]

Mining is an important resource industry in my riding. It provides secure, well-paying, long-term jobs in rural B.C. In fact, just a little aside, my much older brother retired from 40 years at Highland Valley Copper last week. It has provided long-term employment that is secure and provides a lifestyle that many of us in rural B.C. value.

Mining creates jobs and supports services like health and education, which we all rely on. Several mining opportunities and expansions are underway in our province, extending the life of these mines and creating new jobs. Teck Resources, from my riding, a major mining company in B.C., spent over $1 billion in our province in 2013.

Teck's recent investments include over $600 million over two years to modernize its Highland Valley Copper operations. Highland Valley Copper is located between Ashcroft and Logan Lake in my riding. Copper and mo-
[ Page 2563 ]
lybdenum concentrates are transported first by truck to Ashcroft and then by rail to Vancouver for export to priority markets overseas. The Highland Valley Copper expansion is a driver of job creation and investment in my riding, providing 1,295 jobs in 2012 and extending the mine's life to 2017. Over the next five years Teck will be looking to hire close to 5,000 employees in the province.

Since 2011 three new mines have opened, valued at almost $2.7 billion in capital costs — Mount Milligan, New Afton and Copper Mountain — and creating 1,195 new mining jobs. Copper Mountain is located 20 kilometres south of Princeton and was the first new major metal mine to open in B.C. since 1998, beginning production in June 2011.

Interjection.

J. Tegart: Thanks, Harry.

I'm pleased to say that Copper Mountain has a place in my heart. My grandfather worked there, my father worked there, and many generations to come, I hope, will work there. Copper Mountain provides 390 full-time jobs and has a revenue-sharing agreement with the Upper and Lower Similkameen Indian bands.

Mining is such an economic driver in our province. In 2012 more than 30,000 people were employed in mining, mineral exploration and related sectors. This is significant growth since 2001, when only 14,700 people were employed in the industry. Investments and jobs created from B.C.'s mining industry extend beyond the mines themselves. The $9.2 billion the mining industry generated in 2012 meant this government had $503 million to spend in areas such as health and education.

A strong mining and mineral exploration industry stimulates economic growth and creates spinoff benefits, boosting diverse sectors in B.C.'s economy. Indirectly, mining employs port and rail workers, truck drivers, maintenance and operation workers, accountants, consultants and engineering firms and supports our other industries, such as the hospitality and service industries. Mining activity in rural regions provides much-needed jobs and training and economic opportunities.

I am proud to say that B.C. is the first province to share revenue from new mines with First Nations. I think I've shared in this House the experience of signing some of those documents and what it means to First Nations communities in my riding. In 2013 an economic and community development agreement was signed that enabled the Ashcroft Indian band, the Boston Bar First Nations, Coldwater Indian band, Cook's Ferry Indian band, Nicomen Indian band, Nooaitch Indian band, Shackan Indian band and the Siska Indian band to share mineral tax revenues received from the Highland Valley Copper mine.

Mining continues to strengthen our communities.

H. Bains: It is a pleasure to stand here and speak about this motion to preserve and protect jobs in mining. Of course, that is the right thing to do. I think if you go back into the history of British Columbia, the backbone of our economy has been the four major resource sectors: mining, forestry, agriculture and fishing.

[1140]

As visitors walk into this building and look at the rotunda…. There's a reason that the paintings show those four resource sector industries that became the backbone of this province, that actually built this province over 150 years and continue to do that. Of course we support that.

The problem is…. Again, what I see in this motion is sloganeering, another campaign, rather than actually putting in the fundamentals that are needed to continue to have these resource sectors continue to be strong, be competitive and have the attraction of world investment into the province.

One of the basic fundamentals that the investor will look at is the availability of skilled labour. Without skilled labour, no one wants to invest in an area where they will have difficulty in attracting good workers. All these industries paid good family-supporting wages. Yet why don't we have as much investment as we should have? Look at the record of this government for the past ten years: hardly any skills training. My colleague before me said they decimated it. They destroyed it.

Why would anyone look at British Columbia for investment when they know that they will have difficulty in finding skilled labour? I have the opportunity to meet with many resource sector industry CEOs through chamber of commerce meetings. And the one thing they've continued to talk about for the last five or six years, the one thing that actually stopped them and discouraged them from investment in B.C., is the lack of skilled labour availability. That's the problem.

What has this government done? Nothing. Skills training is flatlined even in this budget, knowing full well that we need skilled labour and that we need to upgrade the skills of our working force to attract investment into British Columbia.

It's not just mining. Look at anywhere else. The forest industry is decimated as well. How many jobs have been lost in the last ten years? How many sawmills have been shut down? In the meantime, we have raw log exports, and the sawmills are shut down here because of lack of raw log availability. That's the policy of this government. That's why we don't have as many jobs as we could have in the forest industry and in mining.

Then you take a look, even if you attract the investment…. HD Mining is a prime example. Who will benefit, other than royalties coming to the government? Do British Columbians actually benefit from that when the government says that the company can bring workers from China and they deny people who were available for those jobs the opportunity? Who is in the front of
[ Page 2564 ]
the line for these jobs when you finally have some investment coming here? Not British Columbians, according to this government.

HD Mining is the example. They export jobs by exporting raw materials in the forest industry. Then they import workers when they bring investment into British Columbia in the mining industry. That is the record of this government. They stand up here time and again and make another slogan: "We support this" or "We support that."

We need more real, tangible policies that would actually attract investment. That's not happening. We need more than slogans from this government. The people of British Columbia deserve better from this government. Of the future jobs, when we're talking about preserving and enhancing job security and jobs in this province, 80 percent of those jobs require post-secondary education, skills training or some credential of post-secondary education.

What are we seeing here? Cuts in post-secondary education in this budget. What are we seeing in skills training? Flatlined. Why would anyone look at investment in British Columbia when they know there's no plan by this government to train and give them the skills that they need and the workers that they need in the future? That's why.

The member for Abbotsford South was talking about the attitudes of different governments. More mines opened in the 1990s than in the last ten years. That's a fact.

J. Yap: I'm honoured to take my place in the debate on this motion in support of B.C.'s all-important mining industry.

[1145]

Some may ask: why is a member from an urban area, Richmond-Steveston, wanting to speak on mining when there isn't a mine anywhere near my constituency? Well, the fact is that mining benefits all British Columbians and all Canadians. I know that my constituents know the contribution that the resource sector, including mining, provides to British Columbia, to our province, to our standard of living and that there is strong support for mining in my community, in my riding of Richmond-Steveston.

I'm moderately surprised from time to time when I travel through my riding, whether I'm throughout the community or knocking on doors, to encounter people who live in my community who are connected to the mining industry, whether they may be on the engineering side or on the legal side, the accounting-financial side, the financing side or even the exploration side. There are many, many people in my riding, and likely throughout the Lower Mainland, who have a connection to mining and support mining.

It's very important that we support this motion, which I'm glad to see has the support of some members of the other side. Really, this is about ensuring that as a province, as government, we find ways to continue to support our resource sector, including mining — find ways to get to yes when projects come forward for assessment.

We've heard the statistics from a number of speakers on both sides of the House about the value of mining. I won't repeat all of them, but I will say this. As projects come forward, be it in mining or any other sector, it's important that we have an open mind, that we have a process that's rigorous but that looks at the opportunities to approve projects, ensuring that all the required environmental protections are in place, the required consultations with First Nations are in place.

We have to get to yes. We have to get to yes so that we can have development of our natural resource sector, which, as has been said, accounts for our standard of living. There is no school, there is no college, there is no public building, there is no road, no bridge, no hospital that's been built that hasn't been financed in part by mining and our natural resource sector. It's vitally important for the future of British Columbia, for our children and their children, that we have a vibrant, productive and job-creating mining sector.

Now, I know that members of the opposition would like to rewrite history. But the fact is that when you compare the record of the NDP the last time they were in government to the record of this government during the last 12 years, we have encouraged investment. We have encouraged job creation, including in the mining sector. We have 20 projects that are in the assessment stage. We have seven redevelopments, expansions of existing mines underway. We have a number of new mines that will be opening very soon.

When you look at what happened during the 1990s, 5,000 mining jobs were lost. This was a time when the world economy was expanding.

Interjections.

J. Yap: I know they don't like to hear a little bit of a reality check. The world economy was growing in the 1990s, one will recall, but here in British Columbia our economy was stagnating. Our economy was in decline because they were in government.

This is a government that gets to yes. That's an opposition that wishes they were in government, that would try to say no to projects because…. Frankly, I don't know why.

A recent example. It was not long ago when we were campaigning and the NDP were saying clearly: "We'll look at Kinder Morgan. We'll wait till the assessment happens." But all of a sudden, no. Before the assessment the NDP were against Kinder Morgan, even before the application came forward. That's symptomatic of the kind of chill that you put out there to industry, to potential investors, to people who want to invest in sectors
[ Page 2565 ]
like mining.

This is a government that believes in getting to yes, in supporting the natural resource sector. We're proud of our record as a government that supports investment in natural resources, and we'll continue to see that build. This motion will help us in that respect.

[1150]

Deputy Speaker: I thank the member and remind all members that on Monday morning, while we have a vigorous debate on the issues before us with the motion, we are to attempt to keep it as non-partisan as possible.

D. Donaldson: I'm very happy to rise today to speak to the motion introduced by the member for Prince George–Mackenzie: "Be it resolved that this House protect and preserve jobs for current and future generations by supporting B.C.'s mining industry." I think that we have demonstrated, on this side, our support by voting for the flow-through share tax credit, supporting the investment in Geoscience B.C. and supporting the B.C. mining exploration tax credit. As former Mines critic, I'm very aware of the importance of mining. I've spoken out for the mining industry, as our current Mines critic did in this debate.

What is strange to me is that the government that the member for Prince George–Mackenzie represents does not act like it supports the motion. I'll give you some specific examples regarding that.

For the life of me, I do not know why this government won't invest in secure funding for Northwest Community College's School of Exploration and Mining when they have such a successful rate. For the life of me, I do not know why this government has a history of not standing up for B.C. workers in investment agreements, as typified by the HD Mining agreement. And for the life of me, I do not know why this government unnecessarily inflames relations with First Nations and drives down investment confidence, as typified by the recent Fraser Institute report.

The School of Exploration and Mining in Smithers, part of Northwest Community College, has a 75 percent success rate for people becoming employed in the industry or going on to try to achieve further education and training. They have been rejected in their continuing requests for secure funding by the Ministry of Advanced Education. They are surviving on year-to-year funding. For programming this past summer, they found out just before the writ was dropped in the election in April that they were going to be funded for programming in May. That is not a way to show that you are concerned about protecting and preserving jobs for future generations in mining.

The HD Mining example. We requested, through freedom of information, briefing notes by the former Jobs Minister when he went on an investment trip to China and discussed investment by HD Mining in the province. Not once in those briefing notes was training mentioned — not anything to do with training of B.C. workers side by side with the temporary foreign workers when it came to longwall mining in that bulk sampling. That, to me, is not a very good example of protecting and preserving jobs for current people in B.C.

When it comes to First Nation relations, we heard from the member for Cariboo-Chilcotin that they will continue to pursue the New Prosperity Taseko Mines proposal. This proposal has been rejected twice by the federal environmental review agency.

The people of the Chilcotin recently wrote, through Chief Joe Alphonse and Chief Roger William…. They typified, in a public article, the attitude of this government: "The only surprise is that the B.C. government still thinks it is 1870, when First Nations rights in B.C. were not recognized, and mining can do what it wants where it wants. This has to change, and the Tsilhqot'in Nation, like other First Nations, are not prepared to wait years or decades for more politicians in Victoria to see the light." That's their view.

This is not doing anything for investor confidence. The former speaker from the government side talked about a chill in investment climate. Well, that's a chill in investment climate. That's the reality. We're not talking about anything from the past. That's the reality now. That's what this government is doing.

I know we're not supposed to be partisan here. I'm just talking about a record, facts: no investment in Northwest Community College's School of Exploration and Mining, a history of not standing up for workers in B.C. when it comes to trade agreements, and the fact of unnecessarily inflaming relations with First Nations.

[1155]

What's that done? What it's done is ended up…. In the Fraser Institute report, when it comes to uncertainty regarding disputed land claims, we place 17th from the bottom of 96 jurisdictions. So 79 jurisdictions are ahead of us when it comes to investment climate around land claims. Places like Mongolia, Peru, Chile are ahead of us on that list, and that's a direct result of this government's policy. So I wonder: how does that lead to protecting and preserving jobs for current and future generations and supporting the mining industry?

[Madame Speaker in the chair.]

G. Kyllo: It is a pleasure to rise in the House today to speak on this motion in support of one of the most important industrial sectors of our province, the mining industry. Our government has a mandate to support industries that will help us in growing our economy, creating jobs and building a secure tomorrow for families in every region of this province.

There is no doubt that the mining industry contrib-
[ Page 2566 ]
utes significantly to the economic well-being of British Columbia. Just look at the economic benefits that mining brings to the economy of British Columbia. In 2012 alone $9.2 billion in benefits were generated to our provincial economy, with $502 million injected into provincial coffers from taxes and royalties to fund essential provincial services, including hospitals, education and roads, improving the quality of life in B.C.

The mining story is truly one of British Columbia's success stories. With the support of our government in implementing the B.C. jobs plan, our government has already seen results from the initiative to reformulate the regulatory framework of the mining sector and make our taxation and royalty framework one of the most competitive jurisdictions in North America.

Today we have 19 mines in operation extracting metals, minerals and coal. Since 2011 three new mines, valued at $2.7 billion in capital, have opened, creating 1,195 new jobs in communities from the southern Interior to northern B.C. Seven major mine expansions are also taking place because we're a competitive royalty regime and the availability of highly skilled workers in the province.

The success keeps coming, because three more mines will open this year — Yellow Giant, Red Chris and Roman — creating over 815 new long-term jobs, benefiting communities not just in northern B.C. but all of British Columbia, urban and rural alike.

We're in the enviable position of being the world leader in metal and mineral exports to Asia. Not only does B.C. have vast reserves of copper, zinc, steel-making coal, silver and gold, but our government has invested billions of dollars into B.C.'s Asia-Pacific gateway strategy to ensure that our port facilities are ready and capable to meet the need to export our natural resources to Asia.

Of course, I must commend my colleagues, the Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, and the Premier, for their hard work last week on successfully finding an agreement with Port Metro Vancouver. Now port facilities in the Lower Mainland are working at 100 percent capacity once again, and all goods can now be moved for export.

Employment opportunities in this sector are a significant benefit to our economy. But of course, we are not just counting the 30,000 men and women who are currently working in this sector. There are thousands of British Columbians who are employed working in support of the mining industry from all across B.C. From heavy-duty mechanics repairing industrial equipment used in mining operations to a myriad of professionals, including engineers, qualified environmental professionals, accountants and lawyers, the reach of the mining industry is far and wide.

G. Kyllo moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. S. Anton moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Madame Speaker: This House, at its rising, stands adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon.

The House adjourned at 11:59 a.m.

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