This being the first day of the fifth meeting of the Thirty-Fifth Parliament of the Province of British Columbia for the dispatch of business, pursuant to a Proclamation of the Honourable Garde B. Gardom, Q.C., Lieutenant Governor of the Province, dated the 22nd day of April 1996, the Members took their seats.
The Honourable Garde B. Gardom, Q.C., Lieutenant Governor of the Province, having entered the House, took his seat on the Throne, and was pleased to deliver the following gracious Speech:
Honourable Speaker, Members of the Legislative Assembly, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is my great pleasure to address you on the opening of the Fifth Session of the Thirty-Fifth Parliament of British Columbia.
I would like to begin by offering my personal thanks to my predecessor, the Honourable David Lam, for his years of service to British Columbia, for his wisdom and his warmth. And also to Mrs. Dorothy Lam for her great support and charm throughout.
The past year marked the passing of the Honourable Phil Gaglardi, a political figure clearly cut from the cloth of this province. He was known to all of B.C. for his colourful, outspoken nature; a passion for political life; and a legacy that includes B.C.'s world-class highways.
This year also marked as well the loss of Cliff Scotton, an irrepressible fighter for working people. His boundless optimism, energy and determination were a constant source of inspiration for the many others who shared his vision of social justice.
We lost as well two former Members of the Legislature from the Kootenays. Many of us remember fondly George Haddad, who passed away late last year. And we mourn the loss of Randolph Harding, whose long career at all levels of government was marked by a firm commitment to public service.
But the past year has also seen important advances -- and none more fundamental to the destiny of this province than the initial steps toward British Columbia's first modern-day aboriginal treaty. And in the coming year, my government will work toward concluding a formal agreement with the Nisga'a people -- while consulting carefully with British Columbians everywhere.
This agreement holds the promise of greater certainty and security for families, workers and businesses throughout the Nass Valley and Northwestern B.C. -- and for a future of self-reliance and dignity for the area's aboriginal communities.
Members of the Legislature, this session comes at a crucial point in our province's history, a decisive point for the province's future.
As we celebrate the one hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of British Columbia's entrance into Confederation, the people of this province face a choice between two very different visions of governing.
One is the vision that has taken hold in some of Canada's provinces, resulting in higher unemployment and cuts to health, education and other services. It maintains that government's role is to convince people to lower their expectations.
The other vision holds that people have a right to expect more ... both from their own lives, and from the people they elect to govern them. This second vision sees an active role for government -- building our communities and building the economy to create new opportunities for jobs, working to make our neighbourhoods safer, and protecting health care for our families and education for our children.
It is this second vision, of protecting health care and education and of investing for jobs, that my government has chosen. And today that choice is being rewarded ... with the best job creation record in Canada, the strongest economy, the highest credit rating, the lowest debt and the highest environmental rating.
My government intends in this Session to pursue that vision of a government on the side of middle-class people and working families. The upcoming budget will lay out a program of continued decisive action to protect health care and education, safeguard our communities and create and protect jobs.
This government is determined to get its priorities right ... to reflect the priorities of the people of British Columbia.
And people have made it clear their first economic priority is jobs.
They want to know there are opportunities for themselves -- and that there will be opportunities for their children.
This government shares that commitment to job opportunities. It has launched the most comprehensive youth employment initiative in B.C.'s history.
In the coming months, my government intends to introduce action plans to expand and promote jobs in such fields as environmental technology, energy and tourism.
And my government is working to create and protect thousands of jobs in British Columbia's forests -- long a key sector of our province's economy.
After years of conflict and neglect, my government has brought peace to the forest and put this crucial industry on the road to long-term sustainability. In the past five years, this approach has helped to create 15,000 new jobs in B.C.'s forests.
Now the time has come for the forest industry to move into a new era.
This government has set a target of 21,000 new forestry jobs in the next five years.
The government is working with the forest sector to develop a Jobs and Timber Accord that will tie access to public timber directly to the creation of new jobs. The goal is to increase job-to-timber ratios to levels comparable to those of our competitors in Washington and Oregon. The Premier has directed the Minister of Forests to work in partnership with all those who have an interest in B.C.'s forests in order to achieve this objective.
My government will also introduce a strategy to greatly expand the value-added sector in British Columbia -- so that B.C. timber can be processed in B.C. plants, by B.C. workers, creating B.C. jobs.
People expect us to get more jobs from trees cut on publicly-owned land. And it's time government, industry and labour worked together to make sure that happens in forest communities across our province.
This industry -- and the people who rely on it -- have been through major changes in the past decade. Those people deserve help to cope with those changes. And so my government will act to ensure laid-off forestry workers have the first priority for jobs created by Forest Renewal British Columbia.
There is another resource that requires urgent attention. Like our forests, thousands of B.C. families rely on it for employment. Like our forests, it is very much a part of our history and identity as British Columbians.
But unlike our forests, this resource is in imminent danger of disappearing for generations to come ... perhaps forever.
I speak of the Pacific Salmon ... a living symbol of British Columbian identity.
My government is committed to a comprehensive program to protect our salmon.
This government has introduced new pollution control rules, worked with communities to rehabilitate salmon habitat, invested in sewage treatment, and cancelled the Kemano Completion Project because it threatened a vital salmon river.
My government intends to bring in a Fish Protection Act -- legislation that will safeguard salmon habitat even further.
And my government will also implement a comprehensive program of fish habitat restoration.
But one province alone cannot save the salmon. It takes a shared commitment. Yet I am sad to say that commitment has not been forthcoming from our American neighbours, and in particular from Alaska.
My government has outlined the steps that are needed immediately to achieve a fair, effective Pacific Salmon Treaty.
British Columbia accepts that change will come to the fishery. But the change that comes must be just, and must put conservation first.
Regrettably, recent federal proposals fail on both counts. Ottawa's plan to cut fishing licenses without adequate compensation is an affront to B.C.'s fishers.
This government has joined with commercial and sports fishers, business, environmentalists, First Nations and industry workers to urge Ottawa to take stronger action.
The federal government must tell the Americans that if the U.S. is unwilling to conclude an agreement that puts conservation first, they will face consequences.
The reinstitution of the transit fee, the withdrawal of permission for the testing of U.S. weapons at Nanoose Bay -- these are tools that Ottawa must be willing to bring to bear on this situation.
The government hopes to have the support of all members of this Legislature in pressing Ottawa to take firm action to safeguard an irreplaceable resource, and an integral part of who we all are as British Columbians.
The salmon has sustained the peoples of the West Coast for centuries -- from the First Nations to the modern commercial and sport fisheries. Now it is our turn to repay that debt ... and we are determined not to fail.
British Columbians have long been aware of the importance of sustainability -- a principle that we must apply not only in resource use, but in all elements of social and economic life in our province.
This government has taken historic measures to safeguard the environment. New measures to protect water quality from pulp mill emissions. New measures to protect air quality.
And, perhaps most important of all, the creation of 156 parks and wilderness areas -- unique and precious ecosystems, protected for all time.
From the Tatshenshini to the Stein Valley, this is a legacy of stewardship in which every British Columbian can take tremendous pride.
We are well on our way to the goal of doubling B.C.'s parks and protected wilderness areas. And to protect this achievement, my government will introduce legislation to enshrine the boundaries of these areas in law.
Just as the natural environment has a profound impact on the quality of life in our communities, so too does the social environment.
Nowhere is the difference between the two paths facing British Columbians clearer than when it comes to the services that families rely on.
Some claim there is no choice but to deeply cut critical services like Medicare and education in the name of deficit reduction.
The federal government is sharply reducing funding to the provinces for these services. British Columbia alone will lose $435 million in federal funds this year.
Other provinces have responded with severe cuts of their own to health care and education.
The people of British Columbia, however, are fierce defenders of Medicare. It is probably the most important service that government offers.
And while others may support cuts, my government is dedicated to protecting the principle that lower- and middle-income families can count on the same quality health care that wealthy British Columbians receive.
The cost pressures of a growing, aging population, and the federal cuts, are both very real challenges. But my government is committed to protecting -- indeed, improving -- health care for B.C. families and education for B.C. children.
To do that, we have cut the size and cost of government to find the savings we need to protect Medicare and education. That has meant reductions in administrative overhead, in senior management, in the size of cabinet, and in the number of Crown corporations and agencies.
These measures eliminated more than 2,200 government positions and saved more than $210 million in taxpayers' money ... savings that my government is reinvesting in protecting health care and education.
It will take the efforts of all British Columbians. And I am pleased to note that B.C.'s doctors and public employees are working with my government to find even more of the savings we need to protect Medicare.
By redirecting those savings, the province has made important progress.
Wait lists for heart surgery and cancer treatment have been cut in half. There is more funding to fight breast cancer and heart disease.
And to keep pace with our growing population, my government has expanded funding for B.C.'s hospitals.
The Budget that the Finance Minister will introduce shortly will reflect these priorities.
British Columbians have come to expect the best health care system in Canada. My government intends to keep it that way, and will be introducing a new act that will guarantee in law the rights of British Columbians to health care and education -- protecting existing levels of service to the families of this province.
Education is the most direct investment in our future that a society can make. And British Columbia has come to be known for the quality of its schools, colleges and universities.
The savings my government has found have meant we can protect funding throughout our school system -- keeping pace with the 10,000 new students who will enter our schools this year. The upcoming Budget will secure that funding for the coming year.
My government is also committed to ensuring opportunities for young people as they further their education through B.C.'s post-secondary institutions -- our colleges and universities -- and afterward, in the work force.
This government amended our province's laws to give 18-year-old British Columbians the right to vote. And it eliminated the punitive lower minimum wage for young people, giving them the same minimum wage protection as other workers.
But my government understands that young people today face serious challenges in a changing economy. That is why the Premier announced a Guarantee for Youth: guaranteeing affordable education, access to education, and an opportunity for work experience.
The government is committed to keeping education affordable. Other provinces are cutting funding and hiking tuition fees by as much as 20 per cent. But that would stop too many young people from getting in.
Instead, the province has frozen tuition fees for the coming academic year.
My government is also providing increased funding, as a contribution to its partnership with faculty and administration to create 7,000 new spaces for our colleges and universities next year.
That increase means a guaranteed space in B.C.'s colleges, universities and post-secondary institutes for every qualified student in British Columbia.
And finally, my government's youth employment initiative will create up to 11,500 jobs for young people -- and work experience and training opportunities for 80,000 more, through the Youth Works program.
It adds up to a guarantee of opportunities -- for work, skills training and education.
There is another service that government offers, in partnership with business -- and that is compensation for workers injured on the job.
Workers' Compensation should be about giving people the confidence that a workplace injury will not leave them destitute. But confidence is exactly what many British Columbians do not feel toward B.C.'s Workers' Compensation Board.
Serious questions have been raised in recent years about the board's management and practices. My government has taken action on those concerns.
But it is clear that people in B.C., both workers and management, continue to have serious concerns. Accordingly, in the coming days, a Royal Commission will be struck with a wide-ranging mandate to examine and report on the concerns of British Columbians over the WCB, and ways to restore their confidence in this important agency.
People in British Columbia have also told my government they want our communities to be safer places in which to live and raise a family. They want their government to fight crime and the causes of crime.
My government has listened. And it is responding with a range of initiatives, giving police the tools they need to reduce crime and enforce the law. There has been a special emphasis on combating the sexual exploitation of B.C.'s young people, by targeting those who prey on and exploit teenagers through prostitution.
My government intends to proclaim legislation that will strengthen the rights of victims of crime. And, to further enhance community policing, there will soon be 100 new police officers, working to make our neighbourhoods safer.
Protecting services and creating and protecting jobs add up to opportunities -- for young people, and for those already in the workforce.
That is what people have told my government they want to see.
But they also want to see a well-managed government.
They want to have confidence in the people they elect. And to further enhance that confidence, my government will be tabling an amendment to the Conflict of Interest Act. Under this amendment, an all-party committee will recommend a person to be nominated to the office of Conflict of Interest Commissioner -- a process consistent with the way other officers of the legislature are appointed.
We will also be introducing measures to make Crown corporations more accountable, beginning with a new Crown corporation committee of the legislature, modelled on the public accounts committee and chaired by a member of the Opposition.
And people have told my government they want to see spending and finances under firm control.
This government will soon introduce its second consecutive balanced budget. And that budget will be balanced, not through the kind of extreme, radical cuts that other provinces have imposed ... but through a steady, careful, even-handed approach.
For the long term, my government has a management plan that will ensure health care and education are protected, while eliminating the province's direct debt.
And my government replaced the old welfare system with BC Benefits: a new approach to social assistance that shifts the emphasis to jobs. It offers people opportunities for skills training and work experience -- giving them the tools they need to find good, rewarding jobs.
And it makes work a better deal than welfare, offering new benefits for the first time in Canada to the children of low-income working parents.
The first results are very promising. The growth in welfare caseloads is in check. According to the accounting firm Peat-Marwick, the BC Benefits reforms and B.C.'s impressive job creation record are combining to lower caseloads and save taxpayers a potential $350 to $470 million in the coming fiscal year.
Thanks to that balanced approach to our province's finances, British Columbia has the lowest debt in all of Canada. Financial experts consistently give British Columbia the highest credit rating of any province. And British Columbia residents pay the second-lowest taxes in the country.
But it is still often difficult for many middle-class working families to make ends meet. So in recent weeks, my government moved to make things just a little easier for them by freezing Hydro rates and ICBC car insurance rates.
My government intends to introduce legislation to ensure consumers are protected -- putting freezes on taxes, Hydro and ICBC rates into law.
And there will be further action. Like many B.C. families, small businesses often struggle to get by. Yet they are the strongest job creation engines of our economy.
Middle-class families, working people, small businesses -- government has a duty to try and give them a break wherever it's possible.
That is why the upcoming Budget will include a tax reduction for middle-income earners and small businesses.
All of these initiatives, indeed the entire legislative program of my government, are aimed at demonstrating to British Columbians that they have a government that's on their side.
A government that's working toward their priorities.
It is a different approach than the one we see so often outside our borders. But it is an approach that is clearly working.
Building prosperity by building B.C.: that's the B.C. way. From the highways and bridges that W. A. C. Bennett built, to the information superhighway today, B.C. has found prosperity through investment and partnership between government and business. And just as important, we have found a quality of life that is second to none.
Building for the future, we create opportunities and security for the future. And we fulfill the one overriding obligation of any generation: to give the next generation a better place than the one we inherited.
With more jobs, with better education and health care, with the lowest debt in Canada, with the second-lowest taxes in the country, British Columbians are meeting that obligation to the future. We are building a better province for our children.
And we are doing it by listening to the priorities of people -- the needs of middle-class working families from one end of this province to the other.
Those families deserve a government -- not beholden to any interest, but working for a stronger, better, more prosperous British Columbia for all of us.
His Honour the Lieutenant Governor was then pleased to retire.
The Speaker reported that, in order to prevent mistakes, he had obtained a copy of His Honour's Speech.
On the motion of the Hon. U. Dosanjh (Attorney General), Bill (No. 1) intituled An Act to Ensure the Supremacy of Parliament was introduced, read a first time, and Ordered to be placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading at the next sitting after today.
Motion agreed to.
By leave, Mr. Farnworth presented a Report of the Special Committee to Appoint a Chief Electoral Officer.
The Report was taken as read and received.
By leave of the House, it was moved that the Rules be suspended and the Report adopted.
And then the House adjourned at 2.55 p.m.
EMERY O. BARNES, Speaker