Votes -- Nos. 42 and 43 -- Tuesday, March 30, 2004 -- Two o'clock p.m.

2004 Legislative Session: 5th Session, 37th Parliament

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

[ Progress of Bills . . . ]

Nos. 42 and 43

VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

Ten o'clock a.m.

Prayers by Mr. K. Stewart.

The Hon. C. Richmond (Speaker) tabled the Auditor General 2003/2004 Report 7: Building Better Reports: Our Review of the 2002/03 Annual Service Plan Reports of Government.

The House proceeded to "Orders of the Day."

Order for Committee of Supply called.

Pursuant to Sessional Order, order called for Section A of Committee of Supply.

Bill (No. 20) intituled Railway Safety Act was committed, reported complete without amendment, read a third time and passed.

(In Committee -- Section A)

Section A of Committee of Supply reported progress of the estimates of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

Report to be considered at the next sitting.

Committee to sit again at the next sitting.

And then the House adjourned at 12 p.m.

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

Two o'clock p.m.

The Hon. J. Les (Minister of Small Business and Economic Development) presented to the Speaker a Message from Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor, which read as follows:

Iona Campagnolo
Lieutenant Governor

The Lieutenant Governor transmits herewith Bill (No. 14) intituled Vancouver Tourism Levy Enabling Act and recommends the same to the Legislative Assembly.

Government House,
February 26, 2004.

Bill introduced and read a first time.

Bill Ordered to be placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading at the next sitting after today.

The Hon. J. Les (Minister of Small Business and Economic Development) presented to the Speaker a Message from Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor, which read as follows:

Iona Campagnolo
Lieutenant Governor

The Lieutenant Governor transmits herewith Bill (No. 24) intituled Motor Dealer Amendment Act, 2004 and recommends the same to the Legislative Assembly.

Government House,
March 25, 2004.

Bill introduced and read a first time.

Bill Ordered to be placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading at the next sitting after today.

Order called for "Members' Statements."

Order called for "Oral Questions by Members."

The House proceeded to "Orders of the Day."

Order for Committee of Supply called.

Pursuant to Sessional Order, order called for Section A and Section B of Committee of Supply.

(In Committee -- Section B)

Section B of Committee of Supply reported progress of the estimates of the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

Report to be considered at the next sitting.

Committee to sit again at the next sitting.

(In Committee -- Section A)

Section A of Committee of Supply reported progress of the estimates of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

Report to be considered at the next sitting.

Committee to sit again at the next sitting.

And then the House adjourned at 5.56 p.m.

CLAUDE RICHMOND, Speaker

NOTICE OF MOTIONS

Thursday, April 1


107 The Hon. G. Collins to move--

That the Select Standing Committee on Crown Corporations be appointed to review the annual reports and service plans of British Columbia Crown Corporations.

In addition to the powers previously conferred upon the Select Standing Committee on Crown Corporations, the Committee be 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 a 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 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 resumption of the sittings of the House, the Chair shall present all reports to the Legislative Assembly.

108 The Hon. G. Collins to move--

1. That the reports of the Auditor General of British Columbia deposited with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly during the Fifth session of the Thirty-Seventh parliament be deemed referred to the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts, with the exception of the report referred to in section 22 of the Auditor General Act which is referred to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, and in addition that the following reports of the Auditor General of British Columbia be referred to the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts:

• Auditor General Report No. 4, 2003/2004 Alternative Payments to Physicians: A Program in Need of Change (November 2003)

• Auditor General Report No. 5, 2003/2004 Monitoring the Government's Finances (December 2003)

• Auditor General Report No. 6, 2003/2004 Audit of the Government's Review of Eligibility for Disability Assistance (February 2004)

• First Follow-up Report on Managing Interface Fire Risks (June 2001)

• First Follow-up Report on Transportation in Greater Vancouver: A Review of Agreements Between the Province and TransLink, and of TransLink's Governance Structure (August 2001)

2. That the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts be the committee referred to in sections 2, 6, 7, 10, 13 and 14 of the Auditor General Act.

In addition to the powers previously conferred upon the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts, the Committee be 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 a 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 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 resumption of the sittings of the House, the Chair shall present all reports to the Legislative Assembly.

109 The Hon. G. Collins to move--

That the Select Standing Committee on Health be empowered to examine, inquire into and make recommendations with respect to finding effective strategies to change behaviour and encourage people to adopt lifelong health habits that will both improve their health and sustain the health care system.

1. Conduct consultations and report on recommendations from the Select Standing Committee on Health Reports from 2001 and 2002.

• Investigate other successful health promotion campaigns in other jurisdictions to analyze their potential effectiveness in BC.

• Undertake discussions on how to promote "healthy lifestyles" including the appropriate use of incentives and disincentives to help influence public behaviour.

2. Consider any potential financial savings to the Health Care system as a result of improved fitness of the general population and children and youth in particular.

In addition to the powers previously conferred upon the Select Standing Committee on Health, the Committee shall be empowered:

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

(b) to sit during a period in which the House is adjourned and during any sitting of the House;

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

and shall report to the House no later than November 25, 2004 to deposit the original of its reports with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly during a period of adjournment and upon resumption of the sittings of the House, the Chair shall present all reports to the Legislative Assembly.

110 The Hon. G. Collins to move--

That the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services be empowered:

1. To examine, inquire into and make recommendations with respect to the pre-budget consultation report prepared by the Minister of Finance in accordance with section 2 of the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act and, in particular, to:

(a) Conduct public consultations across British Columbia on proposals and recommendations regarding the provincial budget and fiscal policy for the coming fiscal year by any means the committee considers appropriate, including but not limited to public meetings, telephone and electronic means;

(b) Prepare a report no later than November 15, 2004 on the results of those consultations; and

2. (a) To consider and make recommendations on the annual reports, rolling three-year service plans and budgets of the following statutory officers:

• Auditor General

• Chief Electoral Officer

• Conflict of Interest Commissioner

• Information and Privacy Commissioner

• Ombudsman

• Police Complaint Commissioner; and,

(b) To examine, inquire into and make recommendations with respect to other matters brought to the Committee's attention by any of the Officers listed in 2(a) above.

(c) That the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services be the committee referred to in sections 19, 20, 21 and 23 of the Auditor General Act and that the performance report in section 22 of the Auditor General Act be referred to the committee.

In addition to the powers previously conferred upon the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, the committee shall be empowered:

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

(b) to sit during a period in which the House is adjourned and during any sitting of the House;

(d) to retain 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 resumption of the sittings of the House, the Chair shall present all reports to the Legislative Assembly.

111 The Hon. G. Collins to move--

That the Select Standing Committee on Education be empowered to examine, inquire into and make recommendations on the following matters:

1. (a) To follow up on the 2002 recommendations of A Future for Learners: A Vision for the Renewal of Education in British Columbia; and, in particular;

(b) Based on the 2002 recommendation for a process for public post-secondary institutions to report back to the Select Standing Committee on Education on the enhanced tuition revenues to benefit students, the Committee is hereby empowered to request and receive reports on this matter from public post-secondary institutions.

2. The Committee may consider any other matters referred to the Committee by the Minister of Education and the Minister of Advanced Education.

3. The Committee shall prepare a report no later than November 25, 2004 on the results of this review. In addition to the powers previously conferred upon the Select Standing Committee on Education, the Committee shall be empowered:

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

(b) to sit during a period in which the House is adjourned 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 resumption of the sittings of the House, the Chair shall present all reports to the Legislative Assembly.

PUBLIC WRITTEN QUESTIONS



8 Gary Coons, President, Prince Rupert District Teachers' Union, asked the Hon. the Premier, regarding the Premier's responsibility for the province, the following question:--

Will the Premier revisit the budget cuts to the office of BC's independent Auditor General so that a full accounting of the BC Rail sale will be made public?

The Hon. G. Collins replied as follows:

The Auditor General's budget has increased under the BC Liberal government. For fiscal year 2004/05, budget for the Auditor General of British Columbia is $9.4 million. This is almost 20 per cent higher than the $7.8 million budget the Auditor General was provided by the former NDP government in 2000/01.

Half of the Auditor General's budget is pre-allocated for items, the other half is available to be directed at the Auditor General's full discretion. The Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services (a committee of the legislature) sets the three-year budget plans for all independent Officers of the Legislative Assembly, including the Auditor General. In addition to setting the three-year budget plans, the Committee may review any additional or extraordinary funding requests that Officers of the Legislature bring to the Committee's attention over the course of the fiscal year.

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