[ Progress of Bills . . . ]

Ten o'clock a.m.

E. George MacMinn, Q.C., Clerk of the House, advised the House that only one candidate had declared her intention to stand for the election of Speaker and, accordingly, Gretchen Brewin, Member for Victoria Beacon-Hill Electoral District, was declared as the duly elected Speaker. She was then taken out of her place by the Hon J. MacPhail and Mr. Farrell-Collins and conducted to the Chair and made a statement expressing her grateful thanks to the House for the great honour they had been pleased to confer upon her by electing her to be their Speaker.

The Speaker declared a short recess.

Mr. de Jong advised the Chair of his intention to raise a matter of privilege relating to the actions of the Member for Surrey-Whalley.

The Honourable Garde B. Gardom, Q.C., Lieutenant Governor of the Province, having entered the House, took his seat on the Throne. The Speaker standing on His Honour's right, then spoke to the following effect:

May it please your Honour:

The House of Assembly has elected me as their Speaker, though I am but little able to fulfill the important duties thus assigned to me. If, in the performance of those duties, I should at any time fall into error, I pray that the fault be imputed to me and not to the Assembly, whose servant I am, and who, through me, the better to enable them to discharge their duty to the Queen and country, humbly claim all their undoubted rights and privileges, especially that they may have the freedom of speech in their debates, access to your Honour's person at all seasonable times, and that their proceedings may receive from Your Honour the most favourable interpretation.

The Hon. U. Dosanjh then said:

Honourable Speaker:

I am commanded by His Honour the Lieutenant Governor to declare to you that he freely confides in the duty and attachment of the House of Assembly to Her Majesty's person and Government, and not doubting that their respective proceedings will be conducted with wisdom, temper and prudence, he grants, and upon all occasions will recognize and allow, their constitutional privileges. I am commanded also to assure you that the Assembly shall have ready access to His Honour the Lieutenant Governor upon all seasonable occasions, and that their proceedings, as well as your words and actions, will constantly receive from him the most favourable construction.

His Honour was then pleased to retire.

The certificate of the Chief Electoral Officer of the result of the election of a Member was read by E. George MacMinn, Q.C., Clerk of the House, as follows:

"Chief Electoral Office,

"Victoria, B.C., September 29, 1997

"Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4

"Re: By-election, Electoral District of Surrey-White Rock, September 15, 1997

"Dear Sir -- The May 2, 1997 resignation of Wilf Hurd, the Member for the electoral district of Surrey-White Rock, created a vacancy in the membership of the Legislative Assembly.

"A Writ of Election was issued on August 18, 1997, requiring that a by-election be held to fill the vacancy. Accordingly, September 15, 1997 was designated as General Voting Day.

"The by-election was held in accordance with the provisions of the Election Act, and the completed Writ of Election has been returned to me.

"I hereby certify the election of Gordon Hogg as the Member to represent the electoral district of Surrey-White Rock in the Legislative Assembly.

"Yours very truly,
"Robert A. Patterson,
"Chief Electoral Officer"

On the motion of the Hon. U. Dosanjh, it was Ordered --

That the certificate of the Chief Electoral Officer of the result of the election of the Member be entered upon the Journals of the House.

Mr. Gordon Hogg, having taken the oath and signed the Parliamentary Roll, was introduced by Mr. Campbell, and took his seat.

The Hon. G. Brewin (Speaker) tabled the following documents:

Report of the Chief Electoral Office relating to the 36th Provincial General Election held on May 28, 1996, pursuant to section 13 of the Election Act;

Elections British Columbia Annual Report, 1995-1996;

Auditor General 1997/98: Report 1 -- Earthquake Preparedness and Summary;

Auditor General 1997/98: Report 2 -- Report on the 1996/97 Public Accounts;

Auditor General 1997/98: Report 3 -- A Review of Governance and Accountability in the Regionalization of Health Services;

Auditor General of British Columbia and Deputy Ministers' Council Report -- Enhancing Accountability for Performance in the British Columbia Public Sector: A Progress Report to the Legislative Assembly;

A Report from the Ombudsman entitled Public Report No. 36 -- Getting There -- A Review of the Implementation of the Report of the Gove Inquiry into Child Protection.

The Statement of Unclaimed Money Deposits pursuant to the Unclaimed Money Act, for the year ended March 31, 1997, was received by the Office of the Clerk on November 17, 1997.

The Speaker stated that she would convey the best wishes of the Members to former Speaker Emery Barnes.

The Hon. 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 and Members of the Legislative Assembly:

In closing the second session of the thirty-sixth parliament of British Columbia, I commend you on the accomplishments of the past year. This session has seen the passage of measures of wide-ranging and significant importance to the people of our province. On behalf of all British Columbians, I wish to thank you for the care and attention that you have given to your deliberations. I now relieve you of your legislative duties.

His Honour the Lieutenant Governor was then pleased to retire.

The Hon. U. Dosanjh (Attorney General) then said:

Honourable Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly:

It is His Honour the Lieutenant Governor's will and pleasure that the Legislative Assembly be prorogued until 2 o'clock p.m. today, and this Provincial Legislative Assembly is hereby prorogued accordingly.

And then the House prorogued at 10.33 a.m.

GRETCHEN BREWIN, Speaker