Highlights (Speech from the Throne)
2000 Legislative Session: 4th Session, 36th Parliament
CHANGING THE WAY THE GOVERNMENT DOES BC's BUSINESS
A balanced approach that focuses on the hopes and values of today's
families
This legislative session the government will seek to balance the
need to maintain vital public services with the need to cut taxes
to fuel economic growth and the need to control the deficit.
New Budget Transparency Law
- Open the books on all major capital projects, fully disclosing
their objectives, business case, performance targets and, each
and every year, the projects' current and anticipated costs
to the taxpayer
- Require that the government's bottom line include the bottom
lines of crown corporations and other government agencies
- Require complete disclosure of all budget assumptions and
forecasts, including the advice of the Economic Forecast Council;
completeness of this disclosure to be certified in writing by
the Secretary to the Treasury Board
- Start the budget process with an all-party Legislative committee
to consult with British Columbians on the provincial budget,
and make a public report by December 31st
- Set a fixed budget deadline to ensure the budget debate is
completed prior to March 31st
- Hold the government to a higher standard of transparency if
Cabinet approves spending beyond that in the annual budget
- Make the process of getting new spending authority from the
entire Legislature, not just Cabinet, the rule, not the exception
- Engage MLA's from all parties in reforming the legislative
budget process
New Culture of Openness, Cooperation and Balance
- Work with the Official Opposition on a new parliamentary calendar
- Focus all-party Legislative committees on important emerging
public issues that transcend partisan boundaries
Strengthening and Modernizing Health Care
- Relieve pressure on our hospitals the heart of our
health care system
- Address the shortage of nurses today and expand training for
the future
- Reach a new agreement with BC doctors
- Upgrade hospital equipment
- Improve access to long-term care and home support to provide
better care outside of hospitals
- Money alone not enough to sustain our public health care system
- Bring together health care providers, administrators and other
experts in a BC Health Innovation Forum to create an
innovation culture throughout our health care system
- Broaden the leadership BC has shown on tobacco to other areas
of prevention and health promotion
- Work with the federal government and other provinces to protect
and improve universal health care and reject American-style,
for-profit medicine
Quality Education from K to J Kindergarten to Good Job
- Quality education will ensure British Columbians have skills
to allow our province to succeed in the modern global economy
- Continue to cut class sizes in BC's schools, reduce the number
of portables, provide for more teachers, and increase access
to the tools of our modern economy
- Connect every public school in BC to the internet through
the Provincial Learning Network by July 2000
- Continue the tuition freeze in universities and colleges
- Provide new support to BC's universities and colleges to create
new spaces and offer new courses
- Expand opportunities for apprenticeships and training
Safe, Affordable Child Care
- Work with parents and care providers to begin to build a publicly-funded
child care system
- Support safe, affordable before and after-school care as a
first step
Tax Cuts to Fuel Economic Growth
- Pursue a balanced and modern approach to economic growth
- Target tax cuts for low and middle-income earners to stimulate
consumer spending
- Target business tax cuts to encourage job creation
- Tax cuts may be modest but signal the value of all players
in our economy
Consolidating our Strong Competitive Position
- Use our envied quality of life our quality public health
and education systems, and our clean and healthy environment
to give BC a strong, competitive position in the global
economy
- Reach the goal of protecting 12 per cent of our province's
land base in parks and protected areas during this session
- Protect BC's 550 parks, 141 ecological reserves and 12 special
protection areas in a new Parks and Protected Areas Act
- Work with the forest industry, workers, environmentalists,
scientists and others to develop new eco-certification standards
for BC's forest products
- Amend the Forest Act and the Forest Practices
Code of British Columbia Act to reduce costs while promoting
the sustainable use of our forests
- Continue to encourage BC's leadership in the development of
new environmental technologies to compete in this $600 billion
global market
- Establish a Green Economy Development Fund to support
green enterprises, research and demonstration projects for made-in-BC
inventions
- Examine practical ways to shift taxes from environmentally
damaging to environmentally friendly practices
- Expand our innovation economy in areas such as film and high
tech
- Work with the private sector and build on the success of the
BC Film Commission by establishing a BC High Tech Commission to market our high tech advantage around the world
For the full text of the Throne Speech, please go to: http://www.leg.bc.ca/36th4th/throne2000.htm