February 12, 2003
Response to the Speech from the Throne
Throne Speech Debates
R. Lee: It's a privilege for me to respond to the Speech from the Throne again. The throne speech was delivered yesterday on the opening of the fourth session of the thirty-seventh parliament. February is usually the month when the community celebrates the lunar new year. This year is the year of the sheep. May all British Columbians become more creative, artistic and passionate.
The Chinese Canadian community staged many celebrations over the past two weeks, from spring festival dinners attended by over a thousand to fundraising events attended by over 10,000, and from parades attracting tens of thousands of spectators to lunar new year exhibitions attracting over 100,000 British Columbians. We all shared the excitement of the new beginning and the best wishes for prosperity and good health. I'm sure the community was indeed very pleased to have the hon. Lieutenant-Governor and the Premier as guests at many of these events. The celebrations in British Columbia have become larger and larger every year. It's interesting to know we have the largest lunar new year celebration outside Asia.
British Columbians are also very fortunate to live in a multicultural society where we can enjoy all the cultures of the world. We all enjoy a democratic system where the rule of law and respect for human rights are the norm. This province is blessed with a vast reserve of natural resources and has cultivated numerous local talents, as well as attracted many from the outside. I believe that with appropriate government policies and the right attitude and action, the potential for economic development is tremendous in B.C.
In the throne speech the government has clearly projected the vision of opening up B.C. for social and economic development. I believe this foresight will guide B.C. towards sustainable growth and prosperity.
In the past year the government has taken steps to have open dialogues with British Columbians on many subjects of interest. Together with many of my colleagues I've attended the provincial congress, the dialogue on education, the first citizens forum and the provincial congress on transportation infrastructure. These meetings brought together all of B.C.'s MLAs, MPs and Senators, along with the mayors from our province's 15 largest cities, the presidents of the five regional municipal associations, the presidents of the Union of B.C. Municipalities and the first nations leaders, as well as stakeholders in subjects discussed. Opinions were freely expressed, and I believe they have created mutual understanding, respect and goodwill.
In the riding of Burnaby North we also have public meetings and forums to discuss issues of public interest and concern. I've hosted forums on environmental concerns regarding the Chevron refineries, SkyTrain safety issues, education and the police complaint process. Besides public forums, I also arranged dialogues in the constituency office. For example, we had meetings attended by my constituents and TransLink staff to discuss concerns regarding changes of bus routes and brought attention to the congestion around Lougheed Highway and Willingdon Avenue. Just last week we had a dialogue on education in Burnaby between the executives of the Burnaby Teachers Association, CUPE, school trustees, teachers, parents and my fellow Burnaby MLAs. We have identified priority areas such as community schools and special education as well as aboriginal, ESL and multicultural liaison supports. I am sure that the school trustees will make good use of any additional funds, such as part of the $50 million announced on Monday by the Minister of Education, to match those priorities.
I am pleased to hear from the throne speech that this government is going to continue to open up our democratic institutions. At least two more provincial dialogues are on the horizon. A dialogue on crime will bring law enforcement expertise and community leaders together to discuss ways to prevent and combat crime. A senior and youth congress will seek input from seniors and youth.
In Burnaby the community police model has been a success involving the neighbourhood, the merchants, the volunteers and the law enforcement officers. The model has brought many successful stories of crime prevention. It would indeed be helpful for other communities to hear from our experience during the dialogue.
The wisdom and experience of the seniors could certainly open up the eyes of the younger generation. Last year the Heights Neighbourhood Association in Burnaby organized a series of Tea and Tell gatherings where elementary school students met and interviewed longtime residents about the area in the old days. I attended their impressive exhibition and presentation of the stories and came away with a good feeling, a feeling of just getting down from the Toonerville trolley after a tour of the old Hastings Street commercial area and Capitol Hill.
The experience of the golden ages is invaluable. I am looking forward to reading the report on the organization of the citizens' assembly by the respected Gordon Gibson. The citizens' assembly is a perfect example of the democracy this government has committed to. It can make proposals that will be voted on by all British Columbians to fundamentally change the system of electing MLAs.
The throne speech recognizes that education is the key to opening up new worlds of possibility. It indicates that new measures will be taken to improve graduation requirements and ensure that graduates have the skills they need in life after school. I believe that besides the traditional academic subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and English, it is equally important to cultivate our students in arts such as music and second languages. The provincial graduation requirements and provincial examinations should reflect the importance of these skills. As a gateway to Asia, our youth will benefit tremendously with skills in Asian languages. It goes a long way if one can speak Spanish while doing business in Central and South America. If British Columbia is going to be opening up to the world, we must prepare our younger generation to take up these challenges.
The universities, colleges and institutes in B.C. have contributed tremendously in teaching, research and development in the past year. Institutes such as Genome B.C. have put our province in the centre of the world in genome research. I am pleased to see that the government has committed to expand the leading-edge endowment fund to administrative funds such as the newly announced B.C. regional innovation chairs.
In the past years I've attended award ceremonies of the Science Council of B.C., the University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia. The award winners are talented in many widely diverse fields from optics, microelectronics and gas dynamics of fuel cells to HIV/AIDS and brain research. Yes, you can see biologists, ethnobotanists, microbiologists, immunologists, writers and poets excel and be recognized in their areas of excellence. It's exciting to see so many talents contribute to the province and lead in the frontiers of research and development.
Closer to my constituency of Burnaby North, Dr. Harold Weinberg, founder and director of SFU's brain behaviour laboratory, is in the process of acquiring an MEG machine that can see what's happening inside the brain. This equipment will allow researchers from SFU, UBC and the University of Victoria to explore previously unexplored aspects of Down syndrome. I'm looking forward to seeing the government support this important endeavour.
Also, as reported in the Vancouver Sun today, SFU professor George Kirczenow has developed what could be the world's smallest electrical switch, a device that could allow future computers to store 10,000 times as much memory as computers today. It's this sort of groundbreaking research that will allow British Columbia to become a world leader in research and development.
The throne speech recognizes the challenges in health care, yet it also opens up new hope for sustainability and accessibility in this important service. There are programs to promote health prevention and wellness. There will be initiatives such as the new Fair Pharmacare plan, which will be introduced later this month and will benefit most British Columbians living on fixed and lower incomes. It's exciting to know that the vast majority of B.C. families will pay the same or less for their prescription drug costs than they do today, mindful that over the past ten years Pharmacare costs have jumped by 147 percent and are now projected to grow by almost 500 percent over the next 20 years. It's a courageous step for the government to take to reduce the financial burden on low-income British Columbians.
I'm pleased that this government is going to introduce legislation in the coming year to set up a new community living authority to oversee the design and delivery of services to people with developmental disabilities. I attended a meeting of the Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion in my riding where the Minister of Children and Family Development made the announcement. You could feel the hope and emotions present there that finally there's a minister who's open to ideas, who listens and who has the commitment to the delivery of better services to people with disabilities. An open and inclusive consultation process is very important to facilitate changes.
Continuing on the theme of opening up, the throne speech outlines how this government, this province, will be opening up recognition and reconciliation with first nations, opening up the Canada-British Columbia partnership, opening up new partnerships with local governments and opening up the province to the world. By admitting errors in the past and taking responsibility to heal the wounds, this government has taken a significant step in reconciliation with first nations. Opportunities in resource and economic development are opening up to mutual benefit. A new era of mutual respect will indeed bring new hope to the aboriginal community and will bring certainty and stability to economic development in the heartlands.
Of course, many opportunities for cooperation exist in the partnership between the federal government and this provincial government. The throne speech lists the 2010 Olympic bid, the new Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre, the new Gulf Islands national park, the softwood lumber dispute, the pine beetle infestation, the cross-border initiatives, new infrastructures, closing the digital divide, transportation, harmonizing environmental assessment policy and fisheries management, agricultural policy, parks and marine parks, etc.
What is not mentioned is the importance of immigration policy. Without immigrants, B.C. will see a decline in population, and the demography will further skew to the older age group. We will see more school closures, a smaller number of taxpayers and increased difficulty in sustaining infrastructure developments.
With the cooperation of the federal government, B.C. can expand the provincial nominee program. By doing so, much-needed professionals, entrepreneurs and investors will be flowing into the province, generating substantial revenue for the province to spend on health care, education and transportation infrastructure. A properly designed provincial nominee program can also alleviate the pressure on the federal immigration programs and reduce the waiting period for immigrants or immigration applicants. It will benefit the economy of British Columbia, reduce the workload of the federal Citizenship and Immigration Department and provide new opportunities to many potential immigrants. So even before opening up B.C. to the world by hosting the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler, we can welcome the world to come to live here, to invest, to contribute their knowledge and skills, and to work together with us to build a province second to none in the world.
This is the year for the government to listen, to learn and to act in the best interests of British Columbians. This is also the year British Columbians can take more control of their destiny and win the world. No doubt this is our time to shine.
