2016 Legislative Session: Fifth 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)

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Afternoon Sitting

Volume 32, Number 8

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

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016

The House met at 1:38 p.m.

[Madame Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Madame Speaker: Good afternoon. On behalf of everyone present today, allow me to welcome each and every guest to the people’s House in British Columbia. Thank you for joining us.

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. de Jong: Madame Speaker, I move that this House, at its next sitting, resolve itself for this session into a committee to consider the supply to be granted to Her Majesty.

Motion approved.

Presentation of Estimates

ESTIMATES OF SUMS REQUIRED
FOR THE SERVICE OF THE PROVINCE

Hon. M. de Jong presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: Estimates of Sums Required for the Service of the Province for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, and a supplement to the estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, recommending the same to the Legislative Assembly.

Hon. M. de Jong moved that the said message and the estimates accompanying the same be referred to the Committee of Supply.

Motion approved.

Hon. M. de Jong: I move, seconded by the hon. Premier of British Columbia, that the Speaker do now leave the chair for the House to go into Committee of Supply.

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Budget Debate

Hon. M. de Jong: I was walking by a school the other day, and the students were all heading home. It was the end of their day. Some were walking. Others were getting on the big yellow buses waiting for them out front.

There was this heightened sense of excitement in the air that at first I didn’t understand. I was too far away to hear what they were saying. I got a little closer, and I could hear some of the comments and some of the conversation. Turns out it was report card day. You remember report card day. That was the day you had to go home and show your parents how you were actually doing at school, at least according to your teachers.

All term long you’d been telling your folks how well everything was going at school, but this was the day they got to see what was really happening. And before you got home, of course, there was that whole comparative assessment thing that you went through with your friends. How’d you do in math? What’d you get in social studies? How you did in those subjects and others tended to influence your measure of enthusiasm for the conversation in the first place.

Sometimes, if your results were disappointing, you would feign indifference and shrug it off with: “Whatever.” Alternatively, the more brazen amongst us would simply conclude that the adjudicator, the teacher, simply didn’t recognize the brilliance they were confronted by.

Of course, happily the grade we got in a particular course or a comment we received from a teacher represented a mere snapshot of our development and was in no way determinative of our future prospects. My own math teacher, Mr. Klassen, will attest to that.

Still, we all want to know how we’re doing. How are we doing? Parents certainly want to track the progress and performance of their children. We all want to know that our efforts are being recognized, how we are positioned vis-à-vis our peers and our competitors.

Governments get a different kind of report card. In B.C., I suppose, the ultimate reporting out takes place every four years in the spring, in what we like to call the shareholders meeting, when everyone gets to assign a grade.

Along the way, however, our performance as a province is examined and analyzed by a variety of agencies whose job it is to assess, in a non-partisan way, British Columbia’s strengths, our weaknesses, and forecast our future prospects.

In providing my customary update on B.C.’s budgetary position for the present fiscal year, I thought it might be appropriate to draw members’ attention to what some of those authorities are saying about us in their report cards.

It hasn’t been an easy year for the economists. Volatility has impaired and impacted economies across Canada and around the world. The downward spiral of the oil sector continues. Now the Canadian dollar is following suit, reaching lows against the U.S. dollar that we haven’t seen in more than a decade.

Like all jurisdictions, we are being tested by the dual challenges of rapid change and unpredictability. Unlike most of those jurisdictions, we are not only passing that test, but we’re scoring top marks. And British Columbians deserve to be proud for having earned our way to the top of the class.

Here’s what the Conference Board of Canada said in their January report card: “British Columbia’s economy is forecast to maintain the momentum gained over the
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last year and to continue to make impressive gains. B.C.’s fiscal balance sheet is the envy of the other provinces. After leading the provinces in growth this year, British Columbia will be the top performer again in 2016.”

At the same time, CIBC World Markets issued their November report card and predicted that “B.C. is likely to top the carts on GDP and employment growth in 2016.”

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And from the senior economist at BMO, the following commentary: “B.C. is on track to cruise into year-end as the envy of the Canadian provinces. The budget is balanced. Net debt is low and stabilizing at around 16.5 percent of GDP. Economic growth is atop the leaderboard, and the province’s relative tax competitiveness is steadily improving, especially versus its neighbour to the east.”

There’s another group that regularly issues a non-partisan report card. They’re called the rating agencies, and we ignore the marks that they assign at our peril, because it is those marks that determine how much we will pay to borrow the capital we require to build hospitals, roads and schools. In the world of creditworthiness, the difference between three As and one B is billions of dollars in added debt-servicing costs.

In reaffirming B.C.’s triple-A credit rating, Moody’s observed that the province has “presented a credible plan of consistent balanced budgets with little risk that the debt burden will exceed current forecasts.”

Down the street at Standard and Poor’s, the examiners confirmed our triple-A grade and in support cited “the province’s very strong financial management, exceptional liquidity, and very strong and wealthy economy.”

And, perhaps most importantly, this observation regarding the form and reliability of the budget documents I am presenting today. Last year Dominion Bond Rating Services praised B.C. for exemplary accountability and reporting practices, including “early budget releases, established dates for quarterly updates, full comparability of budget estimates and public accounts, and no reliance on fiscal smoothing mechanisms to balance the budget.”

Not only are we doing our homework; we’re getting it in on time and in a format that people can trust. I suppose none of this would have been worth pointing out if everyone were getting the same marks and attracting the same comments in their report cards. Of course, this is not the case.

As B.C. continues along the path of steady, stable growth, we see other provinces contending with faltering economies and credit-rating downgrades. Alberta was recently downgraded amidst concerns of weak budgetary performances and the province’s rapidly rising taxpayer-supported debt. Saskatchewan, too, regrettably has recently seen its outlook downgraded by one of the rating agencies from stable to negative.

Alone among all of the provinces, B.C. is the only jurisdiction to garner top marks of triple-A stable from both international rating agencies. The exclusive club I referred to last year has now truly become a lonely triple hearts club of one.

Our positive standing is a reflection of the disciplined fiscal management that British Columbians have demanded of their government and the solid economic growth that British Columbians have achieved through their enterprising ingenuity. Budget 2016 will honour that record, that legacy that British Columbians have worked so hard to achieve.

Last year I referred to the fiscal hat trick. This year I will congratulate British Columbians on scoring a budgetary grand slam. In 2016-17, for the fourth year in a row, the government is tabling and will deliver a balanced budget. The budgetary plan for 2016-17 anticipates total spending of $47.5 billion, total revenues of $48.1 billion, a forecast allowance of $350 million and a budget surplus of $264 million.

We have leveraged our advantages internationally and diversified our industrial output so that B.C.’s economy wouldn’t be too reliant on any single sector or any single trading partner. We have been prudent in our forecast and disciplined in our spending. We’ve made some tough choices, the kind that British Columbians have to make each day for their families and for their businesses.

As a result of that approach, the prudence and the discipline, we are today in a position where we have the flexibility to make targeted investments that will help B.C. families with some of the challenges they are facing; offer greater support to the most vulnerable among us; partner with communities, First Nations and the private sector to create jobs and opportunities around the province; and capitalize on our strength today to protect ourselves against future fiscal uncertainty.

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Now let’s get to the numbers. As we move through the final quarter of the 2015-16 fiscal year, I can advise the House of two things. We are on track to meet our budgetary forecasts, but we are not immune from the challenges facing the world economy. Lower prices for metals, minerals and energy products, alongside weak global demand, are weighing on the growth of exports. However, B.C.’s economy has experienced steady and stable growth over the past year, and that trend is forecast to continue, with notable strength in consumer spending, housing and employment.

Retail sales continue to be a driver in B.C.’s economy, advancing 6.8 percent year-to-date to November 2015. Employment has exceeded our forecasts, with growth of 1.2 percent in 2015. The housing market has also exceeded expectations. Housing starts are up 10.9 percent in 2015, and the value of residential building permits is up 26.6 percent year-to-date in November 2015. I’ll have more to say about housing a little bit later.

As B.C. is poised to lead the country in economic growth, we are attracting people from other provinces
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who are seeking a safe harbour from economic storms. In the third quarter of 2015, B.C. saw the highest quarterly level of net interprovincial migration since 1995. We had a net inflow of more than 6,300 people from the other regions of Canada, and, yes, more than a third of those arrived from Alberta. This inflow of Canadians from other regions is a reflection of our economic resilience relative to other provinces, and the economic growth that is acting to attract people to B.C. is providing benefits to families in a variety of ways.

StatsCan reported that the B.C. economy grew by 3.2 percent in 2014. That was well ahead of the 2.3 projected by B.C.’s independent Economic Forecast Council. And that has provided some good news for the public sector employees under labour agreements. They accepted the premise that agreements that offer labour stability and are affordable for taxpayers can contribute to our economic well-being and the growth of our province.

The greater-than-forecast economic growth in that year translated into an additional wage increase of 0.45 percent on top of the general wage increases of 5.5 percent over five years. It’s a modest increase, but it’s one that marks the first time in B.C. history that public sector employees have directly benefited from actively participating in the province’s growth.

The growth dividend will ensure that all employees receive some additional money over the life of their collective agreements — some as much as $1,300 over the term of the agreement. And in Budget 2016, we are adding $213 million over the next three years to ministry budgets to fund that growth dividend. More importantly, it recognizes the fact that British Columbia’s ongoing success and prosperity is a joint effort. We are all in this together. And when British Columbia succeeds, everybody should share in the benefits.

The Economic Forecast Council met again at the end of November, and I’m again obliged to members of the council who travelled here from various parts of B.C. and Canada and to members of this assembly from both the opposition and the government benches who took time to be in attendance.

I should say to members that one very lonely member of the media took advantage of the opportunity to see and hear firsthand the advice we received from some of Canada’s leading economists, against which we compare our own budgetary forecasts. Had other members of the media been in attendance, they would have heard members of the council observe that B.C. sets the gold standard for fiscal prudence and management.

The Economic Forecast Council is projecting growth for B.C. as follows: in 2016, 2.7 percent; 2017, 2.6 percent; and between ’18 and 2020, 2.4 percent. For the purpose of the fiscal plan that I am tabling with the House today, the government is projecting B.C. economic growth slightly below that: in 2016, 2.4 percent; in 2017, 2.3 percent; and in 2018, 2.3 percent.

As usual, our projections are slightly lower than the outlook provided by the council, and that is one of the levels of prudence that helps keep spending within our means.

Forecast allowances are another level of prudence that help protect B.C. against the kind of unforeseen changes, such as resource price volatility, that can sink budgets into the red. To that end, we have built in forecast allowances of $350 million for each year of the fiscal plan.

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In our third traditional level of prudence, we’ve built in spending contingencies as follows: in ’16-17, $450 million; and in ’17-18 and ’18-19, $400 million in each year.

Too much? Not enough contingency? That’s generally the debate around contingencies. Let me simply say that on our $47.5 billion budget, a $450 million contingency allows for less than 1 percent margin of error.

With that cautionary note, the bottom line for taxpayers is that we’re on track for a balanced budget for the next three years, with forecasted surpluses that will allow us to reduce borrowing requirements and continue reducing our direct operating debt.

Surpluses are as follows: in ’16-17, $264 million; in ’17-18, $287 million; and in ’18-19, $373 million. You will notice that the surpluses from the next couple of years are down slightly from what we were forecasting in Budget 2015. I would suggest to the House that that’s attributable to two things: spending decisions in this fiscal plan that I’ll refer to shortly; and the fact that B.C. is not immune to the economic forces that are slowing growth elsewhere.

I want to take a moment to speak about the relationship between responsible fiscal management, the debt, and the ultimate impact that has on services for British Columbians. By showing discipline in tough fiscal times, by paying down the operating debt that has built up over decades of deficit budgets, we’ve been able to free up hundreds of millions of dollars for re-investment in expanded programs and services for the people of B.C. who rely upon them.

Spending discipline is rarely easy, and it’s never fun. It requires constant vigilance, controlling office admin and travel expenses, managing hiring and placing controls on compensation for management and executives, and tough negotiations and modest wage settlements with the invaluable women and men who work in the public sector under labour agreements.

Careful management of the public sector compensation was essential to achieving a balanced budget, and I need and want to again pay tribute to the hard-working public servants who have helped us achieve that objective.

Maintaining that prudent approach will be just as important going forward, in the face of gathering economic uncertainty around the world, because today we have within our grasp the ability to do something that in a strange sort of way could define this generation. Three years ago, the government — the Premier — had the audacity to present the idea of a debt-free B.C. They must
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have been reading Georges Danton: L’audace, l’audace, toujours l’audace.

Many scoffed and said it was impossible. They were, I might add, some of the same skeptics who said balancing the budget was impossible, and yet here we are with our fourth in a row.

Surely leadership is about presenting that audacious vision and challenging us to turn the dream into reality. And that’s what we’re doing: tackling the debt the same way it was created — one step at a time.

Since we started balancing the budget, we will have reduced direct operating debt by over $2.2 billion, and by the end of this fiscal plan, if we maintain our course, direct operating debt is projected to be at its lowest point since 1984-85.

What’s more, if we adhere to our prudent and disciplined path, we have the opportunity as early as 2020, in just four years, to completely eliminate the operating debt. For the first time in 45 years, since 1975, the province will no longer carry the burden of any operating debt.

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What does it mean? Well, it means a whole lot more budgetary flexibility, which we’re already experiencing. I’ll expand upon that in a moment. But it also means this. It means a parent can look their child or grandchild in the eye and say or at least know: “We paid our way.” We paid for the services that we consumed. We didn’t run up a grocery tab and ask our kids to pay it off. We left the province in better shape than we found it. That surely is a gift for the generations.

B.C. families get it. They know that by working hard and paying off their credit card, they’ll save money on interest payments and have that money to spend on more productive priorities.

The dividends resulting from prudent fiscal management already reveal themselves in the fiscal plan before you today — $1.6 billion in new incremental spending over the three years plus annual increases of 3 percent for health care funding, just under $500 million of which is made possible because of reduced interest payments on our reduced operating debt.

By way of comparison — and I want to offer this comparison, not to cause grief to others but because this is very real — if we had Ontario’s public debt-to-revenue ratio and Ontario’s credit rating, instead of saving $500 million for redeployment elsewhere, we would be paying an additional $2.45 billion in debt-servicing costs. Instead, we’re able to reinvest those savings on priority programs for the families and individuals in B.C. who need it most. I’ll describe those investments in detail in a moment. I can hear the keen observer proclaim, “You’re still borrowing,” and we do borrow — reduced amounts for investment in capital infrastructure.

Today, on the strength of our balanced operating budget, we can say with certainty: “We borrow to build.” This three-year fiscal plan, drawing on our fiscal strength, projects total capital spending in the amount of $20.6 billion, of which $12 billion is taxpayer supported, and will ensure that record levels of investment in health, education, skills-training facilities, transportation and community safety infrastructure are made.

That total includes $2.9 billion in health infrastructure projects that include Royal Inland Hospital, in Kamloops; Children and Women’s Hospital redevelopment, in Vancouver; Penticton Regional Hospital, in Penticton; and North Island hospitals, in Comox Valley and Campbell River.

And $1.7 billion in K-to-12 education infrastructure includes projects like the Clayton North secondary school, in Surrey; Smiling Creek elementary, in Coquitlam; Northwest elementary, in Fort St. John; Alpha Secondary seismic upgrade, in Burnaby; Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith seismic upgrade, in Vancouver; George Vanier seismic upgrade, in Courtenay.

And $2.5 billion in infrastructure spending for post-secondary education, skills and trades training, for projects like Emily Carr University of Art and Design campus redevelopment; University of B.C. life sciences teaching laboratories redevelopment; Selkirk College, in Nelson — a trades facility renovation there.

The capital budget includes $3.1 billion in transportation investments, including Highway 1, the Admirals Road–McKenzie Avenue interchange, in Saanich; Highway 1 widening and the 216th Street interchange, in Langley; reconstruction of the Fort Nelson River Bridge, Fort Nelson; and many others.

It is a record level of capital investment in British Columbia. When I attend gatherings of provincial and territorial ministers or meetings with international representatives, I’m frequently asked: how have we managed it? How is it that B.C. alone among the provinces is able to post repeated surpluses, pay down debt and maintain a stable triple-A credit rating? I tell them it’s about thinking in 3-D — discipline, diversity and determination.

This is a province that has a strong and diverse economy, and that’s partly because we continue to build on our competitive advantages when attracting investment, creating jobs and building industries. We have been and will continue to market British Columbia’s advantages to the world, including our stable investment climate, strong labour pool, active First Nations participation, competitive fiscal regime, strong regulatory framework.

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In this year’s budget, one of the ways we’re going to help B.C. families with the cost of living is to continue building a landscape that supports a diverse and growing economy.

We want British Columbia to continue to prosper, which means we have to continue to have a competitive taxation environment. Some of the province’s taxes were designed in the early 20th century, for the 20th-century British Columbia economy. To remain competitive, we
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need our taxation policy to keep pace with our changing and evolving economy. One example is the provincial sales tax, a retail sales tax that was originally introduced in 1948.

To consider those questions is why we are establishing a commission on tax competitiveness to look at how the province’s economy is changing and to evaluate taxation instruments, like the current PST, within the context of those changes. The terms of reference will include asking the commission to consider ways to modernize the existing sales tax. The commission’s terms of reference will explicitly exclude consideration of a return to the harmonized sales tax. The commission will consult with British Columbians, and it will make recommendations to government in the fall of 2016.

It’s vital that we continue to create the kind of competitive tax environment that draws capital investments, industries, companies and jobs to our province. Attracting private sector investment is why Budget 2016 provides $1 million in the second year of funding for the International Maritime Centre, a project that is already attracting more international maritime companies to British Columbia along with the businesses and jobs that support them.

Recently the Wall Street Journal, for the first time, listed Vancouver amongst the leading global shipping centres and named Vancouver alongside London and Singapore. The Vancouver International Maritime Centre is already beginning to fulfil its mandate and attract shipping companies to Vancouver. Just a few months ago we welcomed the first shipping company to open a new office in Vancouver since re-establishing the centre, Singapore-based AAL. The company is already expanding business here and hiring more staff, and those are the kinds of opportunities we want to bring to British Columbia.

Quietly, steadily, British Columbia’s aerospace sector is establishing itself on the world stage — companies like Cascade Aerospace, which for ten years has maintained Canada’s C130 Herc fleet. It has now expanded and is performing similar work for the Mexican Air Force, with other countries like Japan, China, Thailand and Philippines poised to join the customer list.

The latest and greatest in aerial fire-suppression technology continues to be developed right here in B.C. by companies like Conair Aviation. Whether it’s the Q400 fighting fires in Europe or the RJ85 jet air tanker saving lives and property in the U.S. and Australia, this is aerospace technology engineered, designed and built right here in B.C. by the almost 10,000 people directly employed in the aerospace sector.

Building on this success is why the government intends to continue our partnership with the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada by providing the third installment of our $5 million funding contribution to its Pacific division.

Whether it’s Viking aircraft reintroducing the Twin Otter to the world or EarthCast Technologies establishing B.C. as an earth-observation satellite technology leader, an industry that once flew under the radar screen is now providing more jobs for British Columbians and reaching for the stars and providing the kinds of family-supporting jobs we that we want right here in British Columbia.

For the same reason, we are targeting an additional $5 million over three years to expand the effort to advance a strong Canadian wood brand in India, which has the potential to be an important market — a more important market for this province. But it won’t happen on its own, and it won’t happen overnight. Building on the initial work of forestry innovation investments, we are going to pursue this market in the same way that we have taken advantage of and created opportunities in China.

You know, 15 years ago China was purchasing a paltry $15 million worth of B.C. wood products — $15 million. Today, following the completion of the Dream Home Canada project and after working with Chinese officials to explain and market the benefits of building with B.C. wood products, China now purchases $1.5 billion worth of forest products, supporting jobs in every region of British Columbia.

With this funding, we will work with the forest industry to promote a stronger B.C. wood brand in India, to help B.C. companies establish themselves as the world’s leading supplier of sustainably harvested wood products to a market that includes the world’s largest middle class.

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Folks within the U.S., the forces of softwood protectionism, are gathering once again. Be assured that the Premier and the government have already taken the lead in mobilizing Canadian governments and the forest sector to respond to this challenge. Developing new markets in India and elsewhere represents a key component of our strategy to respond to American softwood protectionists who are either unable or unwilling to compete with the best producers of forest products anywhere in the world, located right here in B.C.

While we work to encourage investment from around the world, this budget is also working to grow the outstanding economic potential we have right here in B.C. For small businesses, the backbone of our economy, we are expanding the small business venture capital tax credit budget by $5 million. To make sure we continue to tap into our workforce potential, this budget is providing $8 million over three years for increased youth trades training to help more of our young people participate in B.C.’s growing industries.

As previously announced, Budget 2016 also provides support for the mining sector. As an important economic driver in the province, the mining industry is a key sector in the B.C. jobs plan and a critical source of long-term employment and business opportunities, particularly for aboriginal and rural communities. Budget 2016 will
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extend the mining exploration tax credit for three years and the B.C. mining flow-through share tax credit for one year to encourage further exploration.

Today there are 20 LNG proposals in B.C. at various stages of development. We will continue to work with the private sector to move forward on those projects. We are, however, prudent in our forecasts, and though we have seen important and substantive progress in the development of an LNG industry in B.C., we have not included LNG projects in our revenue projections at this time, pending the announcement of a final investment decision.

The fundamental advantages that have attracted LNG proponents to B.C., including the enthusiastic participation of so many First Nations, have not changed. The forecasts for growing worldwide demand for a reliable supply of LNG remain unchallenged.

While recent volatility in the energy markets has created unique challenges for those poised to make some of the largest private sector investments in our nation’s history, thanks to all of the work that has been done to establish a regulatory environmental and taxation platform within B.C., we may continue to say with confidence that the advent of this generational opportunity and all of the benefits that go with it is not a question of if but a question of when.

One sector of our economy is a particularly notable showcase of B.C. talent. That’s the film sector. B.C. provides generous, labour-based film tax credits to help reduce a production’s labour costs. A strong U.S. dollar relative to the Canadian dollar this past year, combined with the world-class talent pool that has arisen in B.C., has attracted a record number of productions to our province. As the industry booms, they are also able to take further advantage of the tax credits that are now estimated to be around half a billion dollars in 2015-16.

Ontario, which noted its increased tax credit cost due to the low Canadian dollar, as well as Quebec and New Brunswick have reduced their tax credits in recent years.

The industry here in B.C. has recognized the fiscal impact and has, to their credit, approached government so that we can work together to find the best way to address the fiscal pressure the lower dollar creates. The results of these discussions will be revealed in the weeks ahead.

Budget 2016 continues to build on B.C.’s leadership in clean technology and climate action. Climate change is a global issue, and the Premier has made it clear that B.C. will remain a climate action leader. We have been able to move forward with that leadership on climate change while also growing our economy.

Budget 2016 continues that leadership with support for the clean energy vehicle incentive program, which provides British Columbians with incentives when considering the variety of clean and green choices for their transportation needs.

Communities want to know their surrounding environment is being taken care of. They also want to know they are being supported to have safe and vibrant communities.

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For our communities, Budget 2016 commits the following: $75 million over the next three years to the rural dividend program to help struggling communities reinvigorate and diversify their local economies; support for public and community safety, including $5 million for the guns and gangs strategy, as per our UBCM commitment; and $128 million in operating funding for the new Okanagan correctional centre due to open in early 2017, which will add about 240 jobs in that part of British Columbia.

When it comes to safety, people also want to know that their communities are safe from Mother Nature’s more severe impacts. We certainly saw some of those impacts this past summer, where more than 1,800 fires burned around 300,000 hectares. Fighting these fires cost taxpayers an estimated $278 million, put firefighters and communities at risk and, worse, cost a young man his life.

Prevention is key to protecting our communities, which is why in 2015-16, we’re providing targeted investments to help protect B.C.’s communities against future wildfires and other natural disasters, including $85 million to establish a new organization, the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C., that will work towards wildfire prevention and mitigation through forest fuel management, reforestation and habitat restoration; $10 million for the strategic wildfire prevention initiative for community wildfire protection plans, FireSmart planning activities and fuel management projects, which follows through on another UBCM commitment; $55 million in emergency preparedness and prevention initiatives, such as upgrading dikes and flood protection in vulnerable communities around British Columbia; and $10 million in one-time funding to help bolster training, administrative support and equipment renewals of volunteer ground search and rescue organizations.

That’s on top of a $3 million increase over three years we’re providing to emergency management B.C. to support outreach related to emergency preparedness.

Budget 2016 also provides an additional $19 million to improve resource permitting and support work with First Nations and to improve consultation. Resource development is vital to our economy, but we’re also mindful that this must be balanced with the needs of our environment, our First Nations and our communities. This funding is being provided to the Ministries of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation; Environment; Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations; and Natural Gas Development to help them work as they support responsible use of natural resources in the province.

This funding support includes First Nations engagement and consultation, as well as engagement and consultation with industry, community and other stakeholders.
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Why do we do it and pay attention and concern ourselves with balancing the budget and these other matters? We are working to balance the budget, build a vibrant economy and ensure our communities are strong and protected. Those are great goals, and the experts and the data confirm that we’re on the right track. But we don’t do it for the accolades of credit-rating agencies, though they are nice to have.

This is a province with almost 4.7 million people who all rely on government to some extent to meet some fundamental needs. People want to be healthy. They want to be happy. They want to provide a good life for themselves and their families. They want to know how to get help when they need it.

At the most fundamental level, government’s job is to help provide for these needs. With a balanced budget, particularly with reduced debt-servicing costs, we’re now in a position to do more to help people who need an extra hand.

For British Columbia’s most vulnerable citizens, the strength and flexibility of our social safety net is vital to health, happiness and even survival. That’s why Budget 2016 is providing an additional $673 million over the next three years to the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation to support families and individuals most in need.

No child should have to live in poverty and uncertainty. Government has an amazing staff of dedicated professionals who — along with countless dedicated individuals in service agencies, foster families and other areas of support — have spent their careers on the front lines working to make life better for these children.

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This is some of the most important work there is, and in Budget 2016, we are doing more to help them get that job done. The budget provides an extra $217 million over three years for the Ministry of Children and Family Development to go towards helping our most vulnerable children and families, including implementing recommendations in the Plecas report.

The new investment will fund more than 130 new staff, including 100 additional front-line social workers, resources for further training, quality assurance and technology. More specifically, this new investment will include $152 million to strengthen programs and services that provide for the welfare of children and youth, including child protection, children and youth in care, and family supports; $11 million to support child care centres; $31 million for children and youth in care with special needs, as well as autism programs, to meet increasing demand in that area; and $3 million over three years to support adoption service and facilitate the adoption of children in care.

It’s not just government that wants to do more for vulnerable children. To promote and acknowledge the generosity of our agrifood sector, effective tomorrow a new non-refundable farmers food donation tax credit is being introduced. The tax credit is available to individuals and corporations that carry on the business of farming and donate a qualifying agricultural product to a registered charity that provides food to those in need or helps to operate a school meal program.

As well, funding will continue for the B.C. Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation to ensure the continuance of the school fruits, vegetables and dairy program which now serves fresh B.C. agricultural products to 549,000 students in more than 1,400 First Nations and public schools.

We are also making sure that our social safety net is there for other vulnerable British Columbians. That’s why Budget 2016 provides an extra $250 million over the next three years to the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation for individuals and families in need, addressing caseload pressures for temporary income assistance, disability assistance and related supplementary benefits.

An additional $36 million over three years is being provided to Community Living B.C. to support services for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families and to address continued caseload growth and demand for services.

There is a measure of independence in daily life that many of us take for granted. To support the goals established in Accessibility 2024 — this government’s plan to make B.C. the most progressive province in Canada for people with disabilities — Budget 2016 provides $170 million over three years to increase income assistance rates for persons with disabilities. The increase in rates will take effect September 1, 2016.

In addition to being challenged by rates that haven’t changed in a number of years, depending on where you live, you may or may not receive assistance for a basic need like transportation costs. Some get a $52 bus pass; others get a transportation subsidy. Almost half of those people on disability assistance — about 47,000 people — get nothing. We think that’s unfair.

We think all British Columbians, no matter where they live, deserve to have their need to move about taken into account, and that’s particularly true for those with disabilities. Disability assistance is there to promote greater independence for people with disabilities, and transportation is fundamental to that independence. Rather than providing a transportation subsidy that only benefits some, effective September 1, irrespective of where they live, those on disability assistance will be receiving an increase, up to $77 per month, and the freedom to make their own choice about how to meet their own unique transportation needs.

Let me say this: the change I’ve just announced won’t eliminate the challenges those living with disabilities face, and it’s not going to suddenly make life easier. But we hope it will make life a little less hard. Surely the meas-
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ure of any society is reflected in the degree to which it is willing to help the most vulnerable and create the kinds of supports that will truly make a difference in their lives.

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For these British Columbians, we want to be able to provide the help they need to be happy, healthy, productive and as independent as possible in their lives. After all, that’s what our social safety net is there for. In fact, we all use our social safety net at one time or another, and that is particularly true when it comes to the health care system.

British Columbia is recognized as a Canadian leader in health and wellness. The Conference Board of Canada’s report on health ranks B.C. as third in the world for health performance, behind only Switzerland and Sweden, and it is ranked the No. 1 province in Canada.

The high ranking reflects the priority government places on health and quality of life in B.C., successes achieved while maintaining amongst the lowest per-capita health care spending in the country. But I think it’s also a reflection of a growing awareness on the part of British Columbians themselves that by far the biggest determinant of health outcomes are the decisions we make about our own lifestyles — healthy diets, staying active.

Budget 2016 continues to add more dollars to health care, with $3.2 billion of additional funding overall for the Ministry of Health in the next three years compared to its 2015-16 budget. In the third year alone, we forecast an increase of $560 million compared to the previous year, bringing the annual ministry budget to a forecast $19 billion in 2018-19. By comparison, when I arrived in this place — 22 years ago tomorrow — the Health budget was $6.4 billion.

For those facing the scourge of mental illness, this budget adds to the $1.4 billion already being spent on mental health treatment and supports. In addition, we’ve allocated $101 million to construct a 105-bed mental health facility in Coquitlam to help patients who are severely addicted and mentally ill. The Coquitlam facility will complement the services that are available or will soon be available at the Ho Centre for Psychiatry and Education, the HOpe Centre at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver; the Joseph and Rosalie Segal family health centre at VGH; the Maples treatment provincial assessment program in Coquitlam; and the work underway at the Royal Columbian Hospital mental health facility.

British Columbians enjoy world-class health care, but this care comes at a cost. In fact, total spending on health across all ministries is already forecast to be nearly $20 billion. MSP premiums fund only a small part of that investment, and those premiums should be distributed fairly, equitably, in a way that makes sense.

That’s why, starting January 1, 2017, we will be changing MSP premiums and enhancing premium assistance to improve fairness and help B.C. families with the cost of living. To begin with, all children will be exempted from MSP premiums, and the monthly rate for each household will be based only on the number of adults. An adult couple will pay twice the single adult rate. This will be of particular advantage for single-parent families, who often have to work much harder and do more with less.

Under these changes, a household with one parent and two children will be charged the single adult rate, rather than the three-person rate as they are today. At a minimum, this family will save $864 per year and, depending on the income for the household, could save up to $1,224 per year.

We’re also enhancing and investing an additional $70 million annually to enhance premium assistance, helping more lower-income families, seniors and individuals qualified for reduced rates. This change means that a couple will be able to earn up to $45,000 and qualify for reduced premiums. A single parent with two children will be able to earn up to $48,000 and qualify for reduced premiums. A couple with two children will be able to earn up to $51,000 and qualify for reduced premiums. And a senior couple will be able to earn up to $51,000 and qualify for reduced premiums.

I know that some people have advocated eliminating separate MSP premiums all together, but burying MSP into instruments of general taxation doesn’t make them go away. It might hide them and may create, for some, the illusion that health care is free — which, of course, it certainly is not.

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By making children free and expanding premium assistance, an additional 335,000 people will see their premiums reduced, including 70,000 single-parent families. An additional 45,000 British Columbians will no longer pay MSP premiums at all. All told, these changes will mean nearly two million British Columbians, or more than 40 percent of the population, won’t pay MSP premiums. An additional 335,000 British Columbians will be eligible for reduced premiums.

One of the most basic needs in life, one that makes so many of life’s ups and downs easier to bear, is knowing that you have a home to go home to. Is there anything more reflective of who we are as Canadians than the dream of owning a home and the ability to make that dream a reality? For many B.C. families, that reality has become harder to achieve in recent years as home prices have continued to rise.

British Columbians are seeking explanations and solutions for a sharp rise in the price of homes in some areas of the province, particularly the Lower Mainland. The truth is that despite what many people seem to think, the causes of rising property values are complex and really can’t be attributed to any single factor.

One of the ways we can better understand what’s actually driving property prices in the province is to collect additional data on purchasers. The government stopped
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collecting data that specifically identified foreign purchasers in 1998. We believe there is a legitimate need to resume that process again. Therefore, beginning this summer, individuals who purchase property will need to disclose if they are citizens or permanent residents of Canada and, if they are not either a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, their citizenship and country of residence.

Let me be clear, however. Our laws allow non-residents to own property, and our government continues to welcome — indeed, encourages — those who choose to come to our province to invest, to create new jobs and, hopefully, to make their lives here and contribute to the social and economic fabric of our communities. We are proud of the diversity in our communities. That diversity makes us stronger.

As a government, we are committed to working on solutions to the affordability of housing, but we also have to be cautious, to ensure that we create a plan that will truly create positive change. That means we can’t simply focus on measures to help more people enter the market without also striving to increase the available supply of housing to meet the new demand.

Without an increase in housing supply, there will simply be more buyers competing in the same market, ultimately driving prices even higher. All governments and stakeholders have to work together to make sure the supply is there to meet the increased demand.

Since being introduced by the Vander Zalm government in the 1980s, the basic calculation and thresholds for the property transfer tax remain unchanged, despite dramatically increased property values. That will change, effective tomorrow, when the purchase of a qualifying newly constructed home valued at up to $750,000 will become totally exempt from the property transfer tax. Again, that’s new housing, new additions to the housing supply, and it represents a saving to the purchaser of that new home of up to $13,000.

The cost of this measure to the treasury will be offset by adding a third tier to the property transfer tax rate, increasing the rate from 2 percent to 3 percent on the value of property above $2 million. Once again, this year, Budget 2016 holds the line on provincial school and rural area residential property taxes, following our long-standing policy of setting property tax rates so that taxes increase only by the rate of inflation.

We will also help individuals with disabilities with the rising cost of their special needs by providing the home-renovation tax credit to those with disabilities. This is a tax credit that provides $1,000 annually to help with the cost of certain permanent home renovations that improve accessibility, mobility or functionality in a home.

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We can help more people afford to purchase a home, but municipalities must also do their part on the supply side. That means reducing red tape, costs and fees as well as ensuring that developments can be approved in a timely fashion. Regrettably, there are reports of some local governments taking up to two years or longer to approve a residential housing development. That means that in some municipalities, even if a builder were to put an application in tomorrow, you wouldn’t see shovels in the ground until early 2018.

Some local governments are already doing a good job of trying to move their process forward to get housing approved. Penticton, for example, recently concluded a three-way agreement that is adding 70 units of housing for low- to moderate-income families and individuals. Peachland, I understand, is doing something similar. We need more of this kind of collaboration, and I and the government urge municipal leaders to work together through UBCM to share best practices and find ways to streamline these processes.

Municipal leaders responsible for local zoning regulations and regional directors responsible for planning must also contribute by using the tools at their disposal to help improve the supply of new housing at prices that are affordable. Although many are urging the provincial government to step in legislatively to address these issues, we see this as a last resort and believe that if the will truly exists, local government will do their part to help make the dream of home ownership a reality for more British Columbians.

While we work to help more British Columbians work towards owning a home, we mustn’t overlook the many low-income and vulnerable British Columbians for whom home ownership will remain a dream. Budget 2016 includes new taxpayer-supported infrastructure spending of $355 million by the B.C. Housing Management Commission over the next five years. The new program will increase the supply of housing across the province through the construction and renovation of more than 2,000 units of affordable housing for people with low to moderate incomes.

We have worked to identify a number of projects through the provincial investment in affordable housing initiative that can proceed quickly so more vulnerable British Columbians will have a roof over their heads as quickly as possible. These projects will help those at risk of homelessness, low-income families, individuals and seniors. You know, having a safe and secure place to call home is a basic human need, and it’s one we are committed to continuing to work on so that all British Columbians have that same opportunity for a place to call home.

Within those homes will reside our most valuable asset of all: our children. We know that, with the exception of the love and care they receive from their parents and families, the greatest determinant of their success, including owning their own home one day, is the access they have to post-secondary training. Back in 2013, we announced the B.C. training and education savings program, which
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provides a one-time $1,200 grant to the registered education savings plans of eligible B.C. children born on January 1, 2007 or later.

Thousands of families have already taken advantage by establishing an RESP and registering for this program that helps parents plan and save early for their child’s education after high school so that they can get the training and education they need to succeed. This year, we will be spending $39 million to extend the program to eligible children born on or after January 1, 2006, so that an additional 40,000-plus children are better positioned to make their dreams a reality.

Balanced budget 2016 is a budget for a province poised to take advantage of our opportunities. Four successive balanced budgets. The strongest growth forecast among provinces. On track to eliminate our direct operating debt. Services that support our citizens. A plan to enhance and continue diversifying and growing our economy to create good, family-supporting jobs.

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Recognizing that our province is on a positive path, and generating dividends from that success, our government will this year keep a commitment we made to British Columbians. Budget 2016 will establish a B.C. prosperity fund. It will do so with an inaugural commitment of $100 million from the forecast 2015-16 surplus. The prosperity fund will be a long-term legacy intended to help eliminate the province’s debt over time; make investments in health care, education, transportation, family supports and other priorities that provide future benefits to British Columbians; and preserve a share of today’s prosperity for future generations.

As we continue to ensure a balanced budget provides surpluses, so too, we will ensure that a portion of those surpluses will be set aside to benefit future generations. The first priority will continue to be reducing our borrowing requirements and retiring taxpayer-supported debt. A minimum of 50 percent of each year’s allocation to the fund will be devoted to reducing the burden of taxpayer-supported debt on future generations.

We will have a modest opportunity to make investments in health care, education, transportation or other priorities that provide long-term benefits to British Columbia. A minimum of 25 percent will remain in the fund to grow and serve as an endowment for future generations. While today’s initial investment is modest, future government surpluses and anticipated future revenues will help to grow the savings over time, a lasting legacy of today’s prosperity and responsible fiscal management to support and ensure the prosperity of British Columbians in the future.

We’re on track. We’re balanced. We’re strong. We’re better equipped than any other jurisdiction in Canada to deal with the looming uncertainty and economic headwinds we see building internationally. We’re leading the nation, and the experts hail us as the envy of the nation and the example that others should follow. That’s great news.

With the greatest of respect to the economists and rating agencies, it’s not what motivates us each day and drives us forward. No, for that, we look to an entirely different kind of report card — the one issued by British Columbians themselves, like the report card issued by Chief Jonathan Kruger of the Penticton Indian Band when he commented upon the success of the band’s development corporation.

This is what he said.

“We’re breaking records every year for the amount of band members working. The subtrades are really busy, and it’s a good injection into the local economy…. It’s great to see so many young people working. It really warms my heart and gives them an opportunity to live better lives. It will mean better services and infrastructure for our community, like streetlights, sidewalks, schools and language programs.”

Or this remarkably poignant report card, issued by Jodi, a single parent, describing the single-parent employment initiative. This is what she said.

“If it wasn’t for this program, I don’t know where I would be career-wise right now. The fact that they are able to contribute to child care, living expenses, travel expenses and your general income is just amazing.

“There is nothing more satisfying than knowing that I will be able to build a better life for my kids once I graduate. I want my children to know that if you really dedicate yourself to something, you can go somewhere in life. And I want to encourage other single parents on assistance to join the program.”

Now, triple-A is important, but not just because of what it says about us to the rest of the world. Within B.C., triple-A has another meaning: accountable, assured, advancing — appy. [Laughter.]

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The B.C. advantage is back. Earned and re-established by British Columbians themselves through their hard work, their discipline and their determination, today we can reflect proudly on the example we are setting for our children and for our country as we lead Canada into a future where the hopes, the dreams and the aspirations of all can be a reality. That is a report card we can all celebrate.

C. James: I’m pleased to rise and respond to Budget 2016. I think it will be no surprise to the minister and to the others on the other side that we may have a difference of opinion on this budget. I believe families will also have a different opinion on this budget.

Budgets, as we know, are all about choices — choices that show the true character of a government. This budget is no different. Budget 2016 is a budget that is disconnected from the lives of hard-working British Columbians, and it certainly proves once again that this Premier is not there for B.C. families.

It’s a budget that truly reflects the out-of-touch government that wrote it — a government that mistakes its own photo ops for reality, a government that gives tax breaks to the wealthiest 2 percent while ignoring families who
[ Page 10427 ]
are trying to pay their bills, send their kids to college and afford a home.

Oh yes, there were a few promises in the budget, but let’s remember what B.C. Liberal promises have meant for the people of this province. Anyone remember families first? A big promise. A big commitment. And in reality, for families, it meant more fees, more taxes and less support.

Who remembers when B.C. was going to be debt-free? The Premier used that term in the 2013 throne speech, and since then our provincial debt has gone up by $9 billion.

Remember when this government was going to create 100,000 jobs through LNG? Well, in last week’s throne speech, the government talked about trying to hang on to the 13,000 jobs that currently exist.

And remember when this government said they were going to support the most vulnerable? Well, this is a government that created chaos for children in care, and years were lost while it stood by and failed to fix those problems.

Remember when the Premier said that tackling class size and composition was her number one priority? Well, the numbers this week actually show that it’s getting worse. This budget shows that funding levels will do nothing to actually improve the state of our classrooms.

And remember when the Premier promised British Columbians a fantasy fund of LNG revenues? Well, those revenues don’t exist, but the Premier still dipped into the pockets of British Columbians and took $100 million in medical service tax hikes to fund her fantasy fund. That’s what the B.C. Liberal government promises have added up to for families: paying more and getting less.

In Budget 2016, this government could have chosen to take meaningful action to actually address affordability in this province. Instead, it was true to form. It presented a budget that simply tinkers around the edges without actually taking long-term, meaningful action.

The Premier claims that this budget will help families with the cost of living, but in fact, it does just the opposite. MSP premiums went up on January 1 of this year by 4 percent, and MSP premiums will go up again 4 percent on January 1 of next year.

While the Premier didn’t make millionaires wait for their $230 million tax break, and the Premier certainly didn’t wait to create her fantasy fund, she does make the few families who will see some relief from MSP premiums wait until January of next year. And everyone else will pay more. How does that help with the cost of living?

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ICBC rates went up 5.5 percent last November and are expected to go up again this year. This government has spent years picking the pockets of British Columbians through these increases and through hikes to hydro rates, tuition fees and much more. Budget 2016 does not correct that damage. In fact, it continues down the path and makes the province less affordable for families. What this budget does show is that the Premier is not prepared to make real change to benefit the hard-working people of this province.

Now, this government likes to throw statistics around, but they conveniently leave out a wide range of important indicators, indicators that show how hard life really is for British Columbians.

Let’s take a look at wage growth, an important indicator of economic strength for the people of this province. British Columbia is ninth when it comes to wage growth.

We’ve seen workers drop out of the B.C. job market. Our employment rate is still 2.4 percentage points lower than it was in 2008, before the recession.

Private sector job growth, another critical indicator to a strong economy. B.C. is sixth in the country.

Consumer debt in this province is $10,000 higher than the national average and continuing to rise. We see people in this province leaning on payday loans and credit cards to try and pay their bills.

Food banks. Their usage has hit an all-time high. One in five children in our province lives in poverty.

Stagnant wages, incremental job growth in the private sector, families struggling to try and decide whether to keep the heat on or put food on their table — a pretty different picture than the rosy picture this government is trying to portray.

New Democrats believe that a budget should work for everyone, not just the people at the top of the Premier’s priority list. It should work for the people across this province who are struggling to pay their bills. It should work for the entrepreneur who is looking for capital for her next exciting venture. It should work for the small business owner working long hours and weekends trying to keep their local business thriving. And it should work for the young families who are trying to get the best start in life for themselves and their children.

It should work for seniors, who helped build this province. It should work for the most vulnerable. And it should work for the nurses and teachers and firefighters and paramedics and social workers, who give of themselves to care for all of us and help guide the future of this province.

This budget’s small measures don’t make up for the years of increasing fees and taxes that British Columbians have endured from this government, and they’re cold comfort to the people who have already fallen behind.

We live in a great province with incredible potential, both economic potential and human potential. This government likes to pretend that you can ignore one and still have the other. Well, to move our province forward, we need both. We need growth that lifts everyone in all corners of our province.

An out-of-control real estate market in the Lower Mainland is not a plan for sustainable growth for our economy. If your family can afford to buy a brand-new home, yes, you do get a small break in this budget, but
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that doesn’t address the fact that most families can’t even dream of buying a home, never mind a brand-new one.

This government, in this budget, is spending more on liquor store renovations than they are in their so-called historic housing announcement. Piling up taxes on B.C. families is not a plan for sustainable growth — or using those same tax dollars to buy your way out of a political embarrassment with a fantasy fund, as the Premier tried to do this week.

This budget shows where British Columbians are in the Premier’s priority list: nowhere.

I’ll have much more to say about this budget at the next sitting. I reserve my place to continue in the debate, and I move adjournment of this debate.

C. James moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

[1455]

Introduction and
First Reading of Bills

BILL 10 — BUDGET MEASURES
IMPLEMENTATION ACT, 2016

Hon. M. de Jong presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2016.

Hon. M. de Jong: I move first reading of Bill 10.

Motion approved.

Hon. M. de Jong: Bill 10 consists of two parts. Part 1 includes a number of provisions that will enable the government’s management of the 2016-2017 budget. Part 2 amends six statutes in order to implement the tax measures in Budget 2016.

In part 1, the Financial Administration Act is amended to allow government to expense negotiated employee compensation increases that had not been anticipated in that year’s budget.

The Insurance Corporation Act is amended to provide flexibility in the determination of ICBC’s minimum capital test for optional capital. The act is also amended to change the corporation’s fiscal year-end to March 31.

The Wildfire Act is amended to establish statutory appropriations for wildfire prevention, wildfire risk reduction and rehabilitation.

The Public Service Benefit Plan Act is amended to create a new special account to manage government’s long-term disability plan.

The Emergency Program Act is amended to establish a statutory appropriation for certain expenses made for purposes of emergency prevention and preparedness.

The Special Accounts Appropriation and Control Act is amended to extend eligibility under the British Columbia training and education savings program’s special account by one year.

In part 2 of Bill 10, the Income Tax Act is amended to provide a new farmers food donation tax credit to encourage farmers to donate qualifying agricultural products to help those in need. The act is also amended to expand, extend or clarify several tax credits.

The B.C. tax reduction credit is enhanced. The B.C. seniors home-renovation tax credit is expanded to persons with disabilities. The mining flow-through share tax credit is extended for a year. The mining exploration tax credit is extended for three years.

The regional and distant location tax credits for animation productions are clarified to ensure the original policy intent. The act is also amended to parallel the recent federal changes to the taxation of trusts and estates to improve and ensure tax fairness.

The Small Business Venture Capital Act is amended to allow for a continuation of tax credits to support eligible new corporations.

The Property Transfer Tax Act is amended to create an exemption for newly constructed housing used as a principal residence. The exemption applies to properties with a fair-market value of up to $750,000.

The act is also amended to implement a 3 percent tax rate on the portion of a property’s fair-market value above $2 million.

In addition, amendments are made to require the collection of citizenship and residency information on purchasers of real property and information on the use of bare trusts.

The Tourist Accommodation (Assessment Relief) Act is amended to increase the reduction in assessed value for eligible short-term accommodation property located outside of municipalities.

Finally, the Carbon Tax Act and Motor Fuel Tax Act are amended to provide exemptions for collectors and deputy collectors from the requirement to pay security in certain circumstances.

I move that Bill 10 be placed on the orders of the day for consideration by the House at the next sitting after today.

Bill 10, Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2016, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Tabling Documents

Hon. M. de Jong: I have the pleasure to rise and table a series of documents: government’s overall strategic plan and the Budget and Fiscal Plan, 2016-17–2018-19, which together fulfil the requirements of section 7 and section
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12 of the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act.

I’m also tabling the budget and fiscal plan which contains the carbon tax plan required under section 3 of the Carbon Tax Act and other documents required under section 4 of the same act.

I’m also tabling, on behalf of the ministers responsible, the service plans, as required under section 13 of the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act.

The service plan documents are presented in two binders. The first binder contains service plans for the Office of the Premier and 21 ministries. The second binder contains service plans for 26 service delivery agencies and Crown corporations.

The second binder includes a list of organizations that are exempted from the service plan requirements under section 13 of the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act.

The second binder also identifies two organizations that are being removed and one that is being added to the Budget and Transparency and Accountability Act’s definition of education and health sector organization, together with an explanation of these changes.

Hon. M. de Jong moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

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

The House adjourned at 3 p.m.

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