Votes -- Nos. 165 and 166 -- Tuesday, April 27, 1999 -- Two o'clock p.m.

1998/99 Legislative Session: 3rd Session, 36th Parliament

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.

[ Progress of Bills . . . ]

Nos. 165 and 166

VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Tuesday, April 27, 1999

Ten o'clock a.m.

Prayers by Mr. Anderson.

The Speaker made a statement as follows:

Honourable Members:

On reviewing yesterday's Question Period Blues, I noticed that the Honourable Minister of Employment and Investment concluded his answer to a question with an inappropriate reference to members of the Official Opposition, and I regret that I did not correct the Member at that time. Such language invokes a response in kind and is not acceptable in this House. I ask all Honourable Members to use restraint in their characterization of the motives or actions of other Honourable Members.

Gretchen Mann Brewin, Speaker

The House proceeded to "Orders of the Day."

Pursuant to Order, the House resumed the adjourned debate on the motion "That the Speaker do now leave the Chair" for the House to go into Committee of Supply.

The debate continued.

On the motion of the Hon. I. Waddell, the debate was adjourned to the next sitting of the House.

And then the House adjourned at 11.58 a.m.

Tuesday, April 27, 1999

Two o'clock p.m.

Order called for "Oral Questions by Members."

The Hon. G. Mann Brewin (Speaker) tabled the Police Complaint Commissioner Annual Report, 1998.

The Hon. P. Priddy (Minister of Health and Minister Responsible for Seniors) tabled the Provincial Health Officer's Annual Report, 1998.

The House proceeded to "Orders of the Day."

By leave, the Hon. J. MacPhail moved--

That a Special Committee be appointed to select and unanimously recommend to the Legislative Assembly, the appointment of an Information and Privacy Commissioner, pursuant to Section 37 (1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (RSBC 1996, c. 165) and that the Special Committee so appointed shall have the powers of a Select Standing Committee and is also empowered:

(a) to appoint of their number, one or more subcommittees and to refer to such subcommittees any of the matters referred to the committee;

(b) to sit during any period in which the House is adjourned, during the recess after prorogation until the next following Session and during any sitting of the House;

(d) to retain such personnel as required to assist the Committee;

and shall report to the House as soon as possible, or following any adjournment, or at the next following Session, as the case may be; to deposit the original of its reports with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly during a period of adjournment and upon the resumption of the sitting of the House, the Chair shall present all reports to the Legislative Assembly.

That the Special Committee be comprised of members of the Special Committee to Review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act established this session.

Motion agreed to.

Pursuant to Order, the House resumed the adjourned debate on the motion "That the Speaker do now leave the Chair" for the House to go into Committee of Supply.

The debate continued.

On the motion of Mr. Symons, the debate was adjourned to the next sitting of the House.

The Speaker made a statement as follows:

Honourable Members:

I have some observations to make relating to ministerial statements in the House. A review of Hansard over recent weeks shows that we need to remind ourselves of practices in this House applicable to ministerial statements.

While these statements are not provided for and regulated through our Standing Orders, there are basic rules and guidelines that this Assembly has accepted through custom and usage.

The purpose of ministerial statements is to enable a Minister to convey to the House, briefly and factually, information of interest and urgency on government policy or ministry administration when no other proceeding offers a suitable opportunity.

Ministerial Statements are generally made in the House immediately before the calling of Orders of the Day. Leave of the House is not required unless the statement interrupts another proceeding. The courtesy of advance notice to the Chair has been the practice. It is also established practice that the critic in the Official Opposition is entitled to make a few remarks in reply. Other Members may also respond, by leave of the House.

Ministerial Statements must be brief, factual and specific as should be the responses, which must be confined to the points raised by the Minister. This is not a proceeding intended for partisan debate or argument.

I refer the House to past statements by Speakers of the Assembly on the contents, scope and practices relating to ministerial statements, specifically April 26, 1978, and March 20, 1987, from which I quote:

"Under the practices of this House, and in accordance with Speakers' rulings previously made, ministerial statements should generally be brief, be factual and be specific. General arguments or observations beyond the fair bounds of explanation, or too distinct a reference to previous debate, are out of order and will result in appropriate intervention by the Chair. There are, of course, similar limits to replies made to ministerial statements."

Gretchen Mann Brewin, Speaker

And then the House adjourned at 6.00 p.m.

GRETCHEN MANN BREWIN, Speaker

NOTICE OF MOTIONS

Wednesday, April 28


63 Mr. Campbell to move in amendment, seconded by Mr. Plant--: Be it resolved that the motion "That the Speaker do now leave the Chair" for the House to go into Committee of Supply, be amended by adding the following: "But the House regrets that the government has presided over successive downgrades to BC's credit rating; the government has not balanced the budget in eight years; the government has brought BC Ferries to the brink of bankruptcy with its fast ferry program; the government has wasted billions of dollars on the Skeena Cellulose bailout, Nisga'a propaganda, inoperable minibuses, assorted union sweetheart deals, and numerous other boondoggles; the government has committed millions of dollars of taxpayers' money to the Vancouver Convention Centre, without knowing what the project will cost or how taxpayers will pay for it; the government has failed to keep its promise to create jobs under the Jobs and Timber Accord and has threatened the survival of forest-dependent communities around the province; the government has constantly broken its legislative commitment to homeowners, renters and small businesses by arbitrarily cutting municipal grants by almost $800 million in seven years; the government has signed Skytrain contracts which have been kept secret from taxpayers and will add billions of dollars in unnecessary costs to the project; the government has allowed surgical wait lists to grow and health care to deteriorate, particularly in rural regions; the government has failed to adequately protect children and implement the recommendations of the Gove Commission; the government has failed to protect Burns Bog, while giving a $25 million loan to a private company for the development of a theme park in that fragile ecosystem; the government's economic mismanagement has made BC the only province to suffer a drop in private sector investment from 1992 to 1999, and has caused an unprecedented exodus of people, jobs and companies from BC; the government has increased taxpayer-supported debt by 133% since 1991 and that this government is in a state of disarray and utterly incapable of restoring confidence in our economy and governing generally."

[ Progress of Bills . . . ]

[ Return to: Legislative Assembly Home Page ]