February 19, 2004
Reply to the Budget Speech
Budget Speech Debates
R. Lee: To balance the budget is not an easy task. It is made even harder when the previous government leaves us a structural deficit of $3.8 billion and an economy in recession. Nevertheless, this government has managed to implement prudent fiscal policies while revitalizing the economy and supporting the essential needs of the communities.
I'm very pleased here today to see a budget that is balanced. Our government has been taking many steps to revitalize the economy. I would like to concentrate on one particular sector, the high-tech sector, to see how it relates to the budget.
Before I was elected two and a half years ago, I worked in a high-tech facility called TRIUMF, a Tri-University Meson Facility that is located on the campus of the University of British Columbia. I worked there for many years, over 20 years. I was attracted to TRIUMF because…. Actually, it was due to a field trip. When I was in physics 12 at Britannia Secondary, the physics teacher took us to UBC, so we toured the facility before construction. I was really amazed by the facility there, the big buildings, the people and the scientists, so I was inspired. I see some students in the gallery today. Probably in the future, after this field trip, you will be inspired to work here and to be elected to represent the people in your riding.
I worked at TRIUMF for many years. This is a very high-tech environment. It's an accelerator. So you take some hydrogen ions, you accelerate them into very high energy, and they smash into a target. That produces quite a few elementary particles. You can collect those particles. They're used for physics experiments. You can use that even for cancer treatments. In fact, in TRIUMF we have the proton therapy facility, so eye tumours can be destroyed in the eye. The patient can be treated accordingly with proton beams produced by TRIUMF, the accelerators.
In TRIUMF we also developed some kind of isotopes. In fact, there are two new facilities in TRIUMF right now, called ISAC I and ISAC II. The Isac facility is an isotope separator and accelerator. It will accelerate heavy ions into even higher energy and use that for physics experiments and other things.
In TRIUMF we also have a lot of high-speed connections. At home we only use Internet, but in the high-tech communication highway for the high-energy physics community, the communication bandwidth is actually much higher. I saw a test of that high-speed Internet about two years ago, and it can transmit data in a very high volume between Europe and B.C. in a very high-speed way, so they can get the data analyzed and feedback.
One facility in B.C. comes to my mind now — MDA. I just heard about two weeks ago that they are going to build some small-scale satellite but with a high capacity, so they can actually transmit a lot of data to the home, to the facilities. In fact, in a few seconds they can transmit a whole movie; a two-hour movie can be transmitted in a few seconds.
Those are the kinds of developments that are very important for B.C. and for the world. I believe that MDA Ltd., the company I mentioned, actually is a spinoff from TRIUMF. TRIUMF at that time constructed a cyclotron. They needed a lot of people and companies to work on those machines and do the construction, so MDA at that time helped TRIUMF construct the cyclotron too.
I don't want to go too far away before I comment on the budget. This government actually creates quite a good environment for high-tech. This government has made a commitment to the technology industry and to bridging the digital gap in all our communities. It recognizes the importance of B.C.'s technology sector.
This government established the Premier's Technology Council to advise the government on issues related to the advancement and application of technology in British Columbia. This council has made a number of recommendations to establish B.C. as one of the top ten high-tech centres in the world.
The technology sector in B.C. brings in over $1 billion in revenue each year, while employing more than 15,000 employees in more than 1,100 firms and growing at the rate of 15 percent annually. Across B.C. 120 wireless technology companies are thriving, expecting to double their employment by the end of 2004 — this year. That means B.C. has the highest concentration of wireless companies across Canada. Over 500 new media companies have been created. Those companies employ more than 12,000 highly skilled workers.
Another high-tech sector that definitely needs to be mentioned is B.C.'s fuel cell industry, which currently employees 1,200 people. However, in 2011 the world demand for fuel cell technology and products is expected to reach $46 billion. Burnaby is home to the fuel cell world leader, Ballard Power, as well as other emerging companies.
Burnaby is also home to leading tech companies like Electronic Arts, the number one company in interactive entertainment software, and Crystal Decisions, which develops client software to the world markets. We also have the IBM innovation centre, Creo, and we also have the call centre for eBay recently established in Burnaby.
The implications of these industries are enormous. The high-tech sector brings to British Columbians high-tech and high-skilled jobs, foreign and domestic investment, increased revenues to the province and world recognition as a leader in innovation.
This government has recognized this and is helping to foster this amazing environment. The Premier's Technology Council has made recommendations, and this government has acted. In fact, it has already acted on 90 percent of the recommendations to strengthen B.C.'s position as a global technology leader.
To encourage investment and to attract skilled workers, personal and business tax cuts have been made, and $5 million have been dedicated as tax credits for small business development and for interactive digital media products. In order to help small business have access to venture capital, changes to the Small Business Venture Capital Act have been made.
I'm pleased to see that in this balanced Budget 2004, the scientific research and experimental development tax credit is extended for a further five years. This credit has been so successful that it has generated an increase of $700 million a year in research and development. It provides an income tax incentive of 10 percent of qualifying expenditures and fuels growth in emerging sectors such as biotech, fuel cells and software development. I am excited that this province is on the way to becoming one of the top ten high-tech centres in the world because we continue to support more research and development.
This government has been taking a number of steps to achieve this goal. It has launched the Leading Edge B.C. partnership, which is designed to help market our province's technology and expertise. The aim is to market B.C. across Canada and the world. An $8.3 million campaign has been initiated to have an integrated approach by focusing on ambassador programs, public relations, formal networking, hosting of international technology events and advertising. A $45 million leading-edge endowment fund has been created to establish 20 leading chairs in medical, social, environmental and technological research and a further $75 million for six B.C. regional innovation chairs at colleges.
In this budget I'm pleased to see the continuation of commitment in investing $95 million to double the number of graduates in computer science, electrical and computer engineering; 1,750 new spaces for these programs will be added in the next three years. This government has also committed itself to ensuring that every part of British Columbia is connected to the broadband Internet. Schools, businesses, households, children, adults and seniors will all benefit by having access to broadband Internet. It will create learning abilities, allow access to new technology and information, allow file sharing and working from home, and connect businesses with their suppliers, customers and shareholders.
An interesting example of digital benefits is the road and bridge construction e-bidding which was announced recently. This allows companies to bid on road and bridge construction opportunities by submitting their information on line. This streamlines the old paper process by eliminating waste, saving money and time, and reducing inefficiencies and costs. British Columbia right now ranks No. 2 in Internet connectivity. The Internet was used by 65.7 percent of B.C. households last year.
Since 2001 our government has invested more than $900 million to expand research, access, training and innovation across this province. These initiatives have been successful in attracting more world-class researchers and educators to this province. I'm looking forward to seeing a healthy and vibrant high-tech sector in the coming years.
As I was mentioning before, this government has always kept in mind the essential issues that are important to our communities and our people. Our prosperity in the high-tech sector and economy depends very much on one important factor — namely, an educated population. This government and all British Columbians recognize that education is the key. It's the key to a healthy mind, the path to getting a good job and the way to a happy life. It's the most important driving force for the economy.
In order to establish a solid foundation for our children to be successful, we must help our youngest British Columbians excel. I am pleased that our government is going to invest $70 million over the next three years to increase families' access to early learning programs in partnership with the federal government. I'm looking forward to seeing more programs like Success by 6.
This government also recognizes the importance of the educational environment. It plays a big role in the motivation of students. That's why we have already funded a $560 million project by opening 13 new schools, expanding 116 and replacing or renovating 40 schools since 2001. But we are not stopping there. There's another $624 million committed over the next three years. Another seven new schools — at least seven new schools — will be built, eight expanded and 30 replaced or renovated. Over 60 schools will receive maintenance, and 29 will have seismic upgrades.
We have made it easier for children to attend the school of their choice by amending the School Act. We have committed to new graduation requirements by focusing on improving last year's 79 percent graduation rate and 43 percent graduation rate amongst aboriginals. A number of reforms were done to assure satisfaction and achievement in our schools.
Some of the changes were so that parents have the right to volunteer in their children's school; eliminating the provincial sales tax on school supplies purchased through the parent advisory councils; creating student planning councils to provide parents more roles in school decisions; implementing a teacher supervision program to improve teacher performance; and creating a task force on student achievement, which lays out a five-point action plan to recognize excellence in teaching, literacy and school improvements.
The list goes on. A program that's very worth mentioning is the Achieve B.C. initiative. This is an excellent example of the combination of the digital resources with our education. Achieve B.C. is an integrated education initiative that provides access to tips, tools and information for parents, students, families, workers and new entrepreneurs to help them achieve their goals. By logging on to www.achievebc.ca, any British Columbian will have access to information ranging from early childhood development, kindergarten-to-grade-12 learning standards, study tips and parental involvement in schools, to lifelong learning, career planning and job training. This program is the first of its kind, and we believe British Columbians were able to benefit greatly from it. Last year an exhibition of Achieve B.C. in Brentwood Mall town centre in Burnaby North captured the attention of many students and parents.
In this balanced budget, funding for K-to-12 education has been increased by $313 million over the next three years, despite lower enrolment. This represents a jump of $170 million over the last three-year plan. It clearly shows education is a priority. It's a priority of this government and its strong commitment to increase funding of education whenever more resources are available. What it means is that spending per student in 2004 and 2005 will increase $219 million from 2003 and 2004 and a further $107 million in…. Actually, this is per student. The per-student increase is $219 in this coming fiscal year, and the next fiscal year it will be $107. In the year ahead, per-student funding will rise to $6,748, an increase of $532 per student since the 2000-01 fiscal year. This kind of increase will help school boards continue to support choices, flexibility and innovation, and it will also help more students complete high school and improve literacy skills.
I am glad to see this government continue the program on seismic upgrades on school buildings. Last year the parents, students and community users of Gilmore Community School in North Burnaby felt relieved to have the seismic upgrades of the school completed. This increase of funding from $8 million to $23 million for minor upgrades by 2006 and 2007 will certainly improve the safety of many school structures. I'm also pleased to see that a further $50 million a year is available if major structural upgrades are necessary.
As you can see, this government delivers on its promises. I've outlined just a few examples of the things we do for our communities and our people. This government is fiscally responsible, transparent and committed to its people, and it follows through with its plans with the most prudent and effective policy. I'm here to congratulate the Finance minister and the Premier for setting the course, and in the years to come I'm looking forward to a balanced budget.
