1993 Legislative Session: 2nd Session, 35th Parliament
The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
No. 1
OF THE
Thursday, March 18, 1993
Two o'clock p.m.
Prayers by Mr. Barnes.
This being the first day of the second meeting of the Thirty-fifth Parliament of the Province of British Columbia for the dispatch of business, pursuant to a Proclamation of the Honourable David C. Lam, Lieutenant Governor of the Province, dated the 24th day of February 1993, the members took their seats.
The Honourable David C. Lam, 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:
In opening the Second Session of the Thirty-fifth Parliament, I extend greetings on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen. I pray that all Members of this Assembly will strive to keep the needs and well-being of all citizens of the Province uppermost in their thoughts and deliberations.
Since the Assembly last met, we have been saddened by the passing of former Governor General Jeanne Sauve, B.C.'s most distinguished journalist Bruce Hutchinson, and Dr. Peter Jepson-Young, who heightened our awareness of the devastating effects of AIDS.
Also, we have been saddened by the passing of five former Members of this Legislature. Harold Winch represented Vancouver East for 23 years, Dan Campbell represented Comox for 16 years, David Arousson represented North Vancouver-Capilano for 5 years, Frank Ney represented Nanaimo for 3 years, and Doug Mowat represented Vancouver-Little Mountain for 8 years.
Our Province has welcomed numerous distinguished guests during the past year. His Royal Highness, Prince Edward, visited Victoria to be briefed on the Fifteenth Commonwealth Games to be held in our capital in August of 1994.
Other visitors included the Right Honourable Christopher Patton, Governor of Hong Kong, and His Excellency Lee Kuan Yew, Senior Minister of Singapore.
We look forward to the visit of Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin in early April. As host to these distinguished world leaders, British Columbia is honoured to serve as a bridge of peace and prosperity between nations.
This year the Province will commemorate the Alexander Mackenzie Sea to Sea Bicentennial: the 150th anniversary of Victoria becoming our capital; and the 100th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone for these Parliament Buildings.
British Columbia will also host the Canada Summer Games as Kamloops proudly welcomes 4,200 young athletes, including athletes with disabilities, from across our nation.
Honourable Speaker and Honourable Members . . . the past sixteen months has been a period of transition and a test of our resolve. Elected with a mandate to lead British Columbia in a new direction, this government has implemented much needed reforms and created new initiatives to make Victoria more efficient and responsive.
In British Columbia today, people are raising profound questions concerning government's role in shaping our future. The public feels most governments are too often indifferent to the needs of the average citizen.
There is a commonly held belief that fundamental change is essential if we are to solve the problems we face today. This government has heard the chorus of voices demanding change . . . and during the past sixteen months has answered the call.
First and foremost, this government is making the difficult decisions necessary to control spending growth and cap the deficit.
At the same time, with a carefully balanced and fiscally responsible approach to the budgetary process, this government has reaffirmed its commitment to vital services, especially health care and education.
In addition, steps have been taken to make government more open and inclusive, and hold elected officials to the highest ethical standards.
But, this government has only just begun.
To meet the challenges of the 21st Century, this government will face tough choices -- and is ready to make the tough decisions.
To build a stronger, fairer British Columbia, change, although never easy, will be necessary. Those with partisan or self interests who oppose change will have to rise above their narrow positions, or they will be left behind.
What the Premier, his Cabinet and Caucus commit to is nothing less than redefining government in British Columbia. Government that is innovative, independent and effective. And above all, government with the courage to make the changes needed to build a British Columbia we are proud to leave our children.
The challenges we face should surprise no British Columbian.
They touch each and every one of us, and challenge our ability to build a stronger, fairer economy.
The challenges are:
First, to renew Medicare to meet our changing needs. Our health care system keeps getting bigger, more institutional, more expensive, more centralized and more remote. It's time to steer the system in a new and positive direction.
Second, to build our economy for the long term. This government will lead a coordinated effort to build British Columbia by investing in people and in our regions.
Third, to resolve our land conflicts. It's time for British Columbians to finally come to terms with disputes over our forests and lands.
First, Medicare, basic to our sustenance and success.
The Royal Commission on Health Care and Costs concluded that not all British Columbians are equally healthy nor do we all have reasonable access to health care.
Our population is changing -- becoming more diverse and complex. Medicare hasn't kept up.
Across Canada, Medicare is under severe financial pressure. In British Columbia, health care costs have increased over 50 per cent in the past five years. Today the government spends one in three of our tax dollars on Medicare. This severely limits tax dollars needed in other critical programs like education and child care.
But unlike other provinces, this government will not consider a two- tiered health system and user fees as solutions to this problem. As the Royal Commission firmly said, there is enough money in health care already, if only we manage better and spend more carefully.
We must have the courage to take up the Commission's challenge.
This government is phasing out the Shaughnessy Hospital because there are surplus hospital beds in Vancouver and not enough in the rapidly- growing suburbs.
Shaughnessy's acute spinal cord injury unit will be enhanced and moved to the Vancouver General Hospital. The Women's Health Centre will be improved and continue to provide its unique services at the current site.
At the same time, Vancouver hospitals, including British Columbia's Children's Hospital, will be made even better by shifting priorities.
Hospitals and highly-trained health professionals are at the heart of the service Medicare provides to British Columbians. This government won't let that change. But, this government will meet our changing health needs and ensure that quality care is available closer to home.
Too often -- as a patient or as a taxpayer -- the average citizen is the last to be listened to when decisions are being made by the experts and professionals about health care. That is wrong.
This government will move forward this Session with a Provincial Health Council Act and a Regional Health Delivery Act to shift more health care decisions from Victoria to local communities.
With the public helping shape our common future at the community level, our Province can lead the way in new emphasis on prevention; eliminating waste, inefficiency and duplication; and meeting the changing needs of women, seniors and our children.
We face many new challenges in the months ahead, including:
Helping care providers make an orderly transition to other health care priorities and positions;
Establishing community health centres to bring a wide range of care for families and seniors closer to home; and
Putting a new focus on women's health issues including expanding help with high risk pregnancies and mammography screening in many communities across B.C.
As was said earlier, change is never easy, but this government believes it is imperative British Columbia lead the way to protect and renew Medicare, our proudest Canadian achievement.
Second, we face the challenge of building our economy for the long term.
Our tax dollars build bridges, highways and ferries, renew forests, and construct schools and hospitals. That's building British Columbia, and it means new jobs.
But that's not enough.
Provincial government spending accounts for 20 per cent of B.C.'s economic activity. This government is committed to getting greater value and new benefits for these tax dollars: in training for people and for the economic revitalization of our regions.
This government will introduce through the Budget and legislation in this Session, a new initiative of strategic investments in people, our regions and key sectors to begin immediately and expand over the long-term.
With forward-looking and innovative leadership, British Columbia can show the way for Canada in the expansion and diversification of our private sector economy for the 21st Century.
The Premier continues to strengthen relations with our trading partners, particularly in the Pacific Rim and Europe, to attract clean, high-wage investment in our economy and expand markets and find new ones for our own products.
We must move in partnership to create new training opportunities for our current workforce and prepare our workers for tomorrow. The Premier will convene a Summit on Skills Development and Training June 23rd to 25th at BCIT, bringing together leaders from business, labour, education and training to focus on the vital issue of giving workers the tools they need to compete successfully in a global economy.
Third, we face the challenge of resolving our land conflicts.
To move into a new era and prepare for the economic challenges of the 21st Century, this government will lead British Columbians forward to peacefully settle our Province's land disputes.
This will not come without some pain. But we must remember there is no progress if we cling to the status quo, and no economic certainty if we dare not risk change.
Development of our natural resources has been both a vital part of our economy and a major source of controversy. The Commission on Resources and Environment established last year has begun the difficult task of building a regional consensus on future land use. CORE demonstrates this government's resolve to challenge British Columbians to seek solutions that balance our long-term economic, environmental and social values.
To support this important work, the government will soon announce its comprehensive Protected Areas Strategy and work towards a B.C. Forest Practices Code for better stewardship of our forests into the next century.
British Columbia will take another historic step this Session. This government will introduce the Treaty Commission Act to enable the negotiation of modern treaties with Aboriginal peoples to proceed. Fair and just settlements with First Nations will not only provide greater economic certainty but, more importantly, mean new economic opportunities for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples.
This government has moved to formalize our responsibility to represent third party interests at the negotiating table and to establish a cost- sharing arrangement with the federal government which is fair to B.C. taxpayers.
For too long, British Columbia has been without clear rules for reviewing the environmental impact of major developments on our land, waters and air. This has caused concern and uncertainty with both investors and the environmental community alike. The government listened to people last year and this Session is taking action by introducing a new Environmental Assessment Act.
New legislation ensuring polluters clean up contaminated sites will also be introduced this Session. And in the coming weeks the government will be issuing British Columbia's first-ever State of the Environment Report to provide a benchmark to measure our Province's environmental progress.
Just as the government faces these challenges of building a stronger, fairer British Columbia, it has begun to tackle the tough fiscal problems and manage government better. In this new era, it is not just how much government will spend, but where we spend and how smartly we spend.
This government has already begun to rein in a budget that had grown out of control. The tough measures needed to accomplish this involved shared sacrifice and began with government itself. The government cut spending growth from 12 to less than 7 per cent this past year and has kept its spending on target.
The salaries of MLAs were frozen while Cabinet's were cut, and unnecessary bureaucratic positions are being eliminated. Earlier this month, some progress from these efforts came in statistics showing a decline in the projected deficit.
The reality of deficits for eight of the last ten years in British Columbia requires us to seek responsible, balanced measures to control spending, reduce waste, and shift resources to higher priority areas. This all must be done while ensuring fairness in the distribution of sacrifice and by asking people, particularly those most able to pay, to contribute their fair share.
However, controlling our finances does not mean irresponsibly eliminating vital services. It simply means managing taxpayer's dollars more efficiently. The final report of the Korbin Commission will be released this spring.
Although this government has already begun to act on some interim recommendations to improve efficiency and eliminate waste, more action will be taken on the final report to make government accountable at every level. One area where we will seek to meet this goal involves public sector activities which are virtually autonomous from the provincial government. About half of all provincial government dollars go to municipalities and hospital, university, college, and school boards who make their own budget decisions.
With the same goal, this government will pursue reforms in the areas of police and public safety, municipal legislation and municipal grant distribution to improve service and efficiency. These reforms are the product of extensive public consultation.
The government will continue to challenge itself to better respond to changing economic needs. The Ministry of Economic Development, Small Business and Trade has been reorganized, with a reduction in middle management and a sharpened focus on development of B.C.'s regions. New regional development officers will work in 22 areas assisting local communities to adjust to change, identify their priorities and promote their unique economic opportunities.
The new British Columbia Investment Office, reporting to the Premier, will work to cut unnecessary red tape and duplication within the normal regulatory and review processes. A high-tech link between government and its suppliers of goods and services will be established. B.C. Buy Smart will ensure more efficiency, faster payment and increased use of local suppliers by regional offices.
Changing needs and a changing society also dictate this government introduce a new Family and Community Services Act to provide greater support for families in crisis. This government will, as well, increase its support to emergency shelters and transition housing for women and children who are the victims of family violence, expand services for women in their communities, and expand the number and quality of child care spaces.
Additional legislative changes proposed this Session ensure equity in the areas of adult guardianship, multiculturalism and human rights. Legislation will be amended to extend further protection to consumers and tenants.
To further establish public trust in government agencies charged by law to make independent and binding decisions, legislation will be introduced to abolish ALR appeals directly to Cabinet.
No effort undertaken by this government will be more important than our effort to make it more open and accessible to the people we serve. While our new and extensive Freedom of Information Act officially comes into force this fall, this government has acted in its spirit since its adoption and this Session will offer proposals to implement and extend its provisions to the local level.
To ensure public access to accomplish these goals, the men and women of this Assembly must work together in good faith. As public servants, we must stand firm in the face of criticism, resist entrenched interests, and dedicate ourselves to the future of our Province.
As leaders of British Columbia, let us draw inspiration from those who have gone before us.
Thirty years ago, W. A. C. Bennett built roads and dams. And twenty years ago, Dave Barrett protected our agricultural lands for future generations. These British Columbians, along with countless others who have built this Province from its beginning, all have one quality in common, they had the courage to change.
Do we dare follow in their footsteps, or will we cling to the status quo?
Do we have the courage to renew Medicare?
Do we have the courage to peacefully resolve our land disputes?
Do we have the courage and imagination and commitment to lead this Province into the Twenty-first Century, and build a British Columbia we are proud to leave to our children?
Honourable Speaker and Honourable Members . . .
History shall be our judge, let us agree today to accept the challenge. Let us have the courage to change.
His Honour the Lieutenant Governor was then pleased to retire.
The Speaker reported that, in order to prevent mistakes, she had obtained a copy of His Honour's Speech.
On the motion of the Hon. C. Gabelmann (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.
The Hon. M. F. Harcourt (Premier) moved that the Select Standing Committees of this House, for the present Session, be appointed for the following purposes:
1. Aboriginal Affairs;
2. Justice, Constitutional Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations;
3. Education, Culture and Multiculturalism;
4. Economic Development, Science, Labour, Training and Technology;
5. Environment and Tourism;
6. Finance, Crown Corporations and Government Services;
7. Health and Social Services;
8. Agriculture and Fisheries;
9. Forests, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources;
10. Transportation, Municipal Affairs and Housing;
11. Women's Equality;
12. Public Accounts;
13. Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and
Private Bills; which said Committees shall severally be empowered to examine and inquire into all such matters and things as shall be referred to them by this House, and to report from time to time their observations and opinions thereon, with power to send for persons, papers and records, and that a Special Committee be appointed to prepare and report with all convenient speed lists of members to compose the above Select Standing Committees of this House under Standing Order 68 (1), the Committee to be composed of the Hon. M. Sihota (Convener), the Hon. A. Petter, Messrs. Garden, Krog, Schreck and Janssen, Ms. MacPhail, Messrs. Dalton, Farrell-Collins, K. Jones and Serwa.
The Hon. J. Sawicki (Speaker) tabled the Financial Statement of the Auditor General of British Columbia.
And then the House adjourned at 4.18 p.m.
JOAN SAWICKI, Speaker
NOTICE OF MOTIONS
Monday Next
Mr. Krog to introduce a Bill intituled An Act to Enhance Freedom of Public Expression.
Mr. Lortie to introduce a Bill intituled An Act to Establish the Boundary Bay Wildlife Management Area.
Mr. Weisgerber to introduce a Bill intituled Initiative Act.
Mr. Mitchell to introduce a Bill intituled An Act to Elect the Speaker by Closed Ballot.
Mr. Weisgerber to introduce a Bill intituled Recall Act.
Mr. Weisgerber to introduce a Bill intituled Free Votes Enabling Act.
NOTICE OF MOTIONS
Monday Next
NOTICE OF QUESTIONS
Monday Next
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