MARCH 1, 2006
Budget Debate
Response to the Budget

R. Cantelon: I appreciate the opportunity to address this assembly on the budget. The previous speaker for Vancouver-Fairview commented that our budget's overheating. Things are perhaps going too well. Madam Speaker, let me tell you: we're just getting started. You haven't seen anything yet.

           The Premier's laid out a broad vision for a golden decade. We're going to fulfil that promise, the promise that B.C.'s opportunity — its climate; its people, its greatest resource — offers to all of us who are so fortunate to live here.

           I have to admit that yes, the previous speaker is correct. We did exceed our expectations. We had surpluses beyond our expectations, and it wasn't so many years ago this was not considered an evil thing. In fact, it was often considered a good thing to exceed your revenue targets. I think that on the street, in the land of common sense, it's still a good idea to budget conservatively and to exceed your revenue targets and balance the books.

           We've come a long way. The previous speaker has also mentioned, of course, that the debt is increasing, but I think one of the most important considerations in debt is: is our debt affordable? Certainly, interest rates help that, but we've moved a long way from previous times, such as around, say, 2001 or 2002, when this government first came into office, when our ratio of taxpayer-supported debt to GDP was around 21 percent — 21.3 percent, actually. Now we've projected that by the end of this fiscal budget, we will be down to 15.4 percent, the lowest ratio ever in the history of the modern B.C. economy. It is a balanced budget, and it is going to continue to be a balanced budget.

           We're not talking about trickle-down economics here. As one of the main goals, we're talking about creating more jobs than any other jurisdiction, than any other place in Canada. This is no trickle-down theory of economies. We're creating more employment for our young people and more opportunity. That creates an atmosphere of hope, expectation and opportunity, which is attracting investment like never before in British Columbia — particularly, for example, in the mining industry, which languished for many, many years.

           I believe it wasn't long ago that it was around $20 million, and now this year it will exceed over $200 million — the mining production in British Columbia. That's not just a factor of commodity prices, because throughout the world, people are developing new mines and doing new explorations. It's essential that we must compete in this very competitive natural resource commodity world with new production and new developments, and we're doing that.

           It is, indeed, a climate of opportunity. I'm very happy to say in the riding that I represent, Nanaimo, that the employment rates are at their highest levels ever. The unemployment rates are down, and there's a real spirit of enthusiasm and can-do in our community.

           The city of Nanaimo was one of the first communities to take part and jump in on the Olympic vision that was presented by the Premier. I'd like to say that that was a lesson, I think, learned from the great success of Expo '86. We recognized that our proximity to Vancouver presents unique opportunities for Nanaimoites, and we decided that, well, it's time to get going. It's time to make something out of our downtown. It's time to spruce it up and move forward, because if you don't move forward, you're going backwards. Everybody else is passing you, and that's a fact.

           That's certainly a fact for our economy and a factor for British Columbia, but indeed, we're not going backwards. We're going forward like never before. B.C. is now recognized as one of the most prominent and emerging regions economically in Canada. We're becoming a powerhouse. We're the gateway to the Asia-Pacific, but beyond that, we're becoming an industry and an economy, bar none, in Canada.

           In Nanaimo they've very enthusiastically embraced the concept of the Olympics, and they're going ahead to build a new conference centre. This will be the inclusion of a new Marriott hotel and a brand-new museum for the citizens of the area and a tourist attraction too. We hope to offer some competition to the Royal B.C. Museum down here.

           Interjection.

           R. Cantelon: No, it's indeed not from bingo money. I thank the member from Vancouver for pointing that out to me.

           This would be an investment of many millions of dollars in Nanaimo. We're happy to have the provincial government supporting this. One of the components of this development will be two new ice surfaces, which the provincial government has very generously committed $8.3 million to. This is necessitated because we're tearing the old one down to make way for new developments.

           New developments are attracted by this new climate of opportunity and investment that is broad throughout British Columbia but very specific to Nanaimo. We've seen the development of — many of you may remember — the old Malaspina Hotel. It sat in poor downtown Nanaimo as sort of a derelict representation of the hopelessness of the previous administration in the dismal decade of the '90s. It just sat there and languished — a bare skeleton, empty. Now investors have bought it. Not only have they bought it, they're doing a condominium waterfront development with 155 units that is indeed so successful that they want to now build another two storeys.

           Insight Developments, another well-known developer, has invested some $60 million in our wonderful city and is doing another tower beside it — $84 million. There are concerns about high-rises, and so the council, in its wisdom, certainly has looked ahead and developed a vision whereby they'll maintain a lower level in the downtown core and put the highrises on the outside so as not to create a complete blockage of the waterfront.

           These are the things that are happening, and they're exciting. A previous speaker of ours from…

           An Hon. Member: Burrard.

           R. Cantelon: …Burrard — thank you — spoke about the importance of the arts. This is one of the major focuses of the downtown revitalization that's been happening in our city. Arts and culture are considered a major driver. It's well recognized that if you are able to attract people who enjoy arts and culture, the money comes with them — not following. Indeed, it's a culture of imagination and creativity that inspires business development and growth. That's what's happening in downtown Nanaimo.

           I'm happy to report that there are 58 net new businesses in the downtown. I have to say "net new" because, of course, sometimes it's two steps forward and then one back. But overall, it's 58 new businesses in the downtown area, and it is alive and well. I invite you all to see it. You won't believe it. We have more coffee houses than Seattle and better coffee, too, and they're brewing it and grinding it and serving it right on the premises. "Cappuccino" is not a foreign word. They have more variety of lattes than you can imagine, and they're all being sold and lapped up furiously.

           One other thing that this economy presents — and again, I think it is one of the outstanding achievements of Nanaimo — is the skills and training emphasis that is put on the new budget. Certainly, with all the employment opportunities that we're creating in Nanaimo, tradespeople are becoming increasingly short. It is very, very vital that we support our youth with training and skills programs. That's why I was very pleased — and I think it's extremely appropriate and timely — that in this budget we see a $90 million incentive program for industry to develop apprenticeship programs and an added $39 million for the Industry Training Authority to provide apprenticeship programs.

           In the future we're going to run out of trained people if we don't start dealing with it very soon. The other aspect of this one, of course, was a $50 million scholarship program for innovation and research in technology. We need to find new ways, new engineering. It was not long ago that engineering wasn't very well regarded as a profession, but now engineers are in short demand, and we need new research. We need to encourage and inspire engineers to look for innovative ways to adapt technology to our economy.

           One of the most successful programs in Nanaimo is BladeRunners. I was asked by my colleague next to me from Kelowna: what's that all about?

           [Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

           I'd be very, very happy to tell you more about that, but I take note of the hour, Mr. Speaker. I'm sure you'd like to hear more of it in its entirety and its contextual fullness.

           Interjections.

           R. Cantelon: I think so. I'd like to carry on. Noting the hour, may I suggest adjournment so that I could be more specific about this program — adjourn the debate.

Budget Debate
(continued)

           R. Cantelon: It's my privilege today to rise and speak in support of the budget.

           Continuing my line of thought from last night, I have to say that I was taking what I had heard yesterday, particularly from the member for Vancouver-Fairview, who was concerned about the economy overheating, the fact that we had excessive revenue over our expenditures, that we were running up surpluses and that somehow surpluses were bad…. I was trying to hold all of these things in my brain as I was in my room last night preparing for the speech. I kind of drifted off to sleep and drifted in a bit, and all of these things kind of confused me.

           All of a sudden I had an image of the Finance Minister and her new shoes. They were clicking together, and I thought somebody said to me: "This isn't Kansas." Then suddenly I woke up, and I came to realize that yes indeed, this isn't Kansas. But it isn't the British Columbia we've come to recognize. It isn't the British Columbia we've come to know in recent years. There's a difference. The difference is prosperity.

           [S. Hammell in the chair.]

           We haven't seen much of it here in British Columbia, but we like it. We're going to do more of it — a lot more of it. B.C. is back. Stand back, Canada, because we're back, and we're going to be in here for a long, long run — for an entire decade. We're going to build an economy that's sustainable, that will carry through for the next ten years.

           Periodically we see on TV…. The rest of Canada often doesn't recognize that we're here, or if they do, they don't understand that we are a different region. I don't really mind when Calgary is always spoken of, and we have a representative speaking of the voice from the west. They can have that, because really, we're not the voice of the west. We are a distinct region out here.

           Within this great region of British Columbia there's a multitude of opportunities, and there's a wide range of communities — from the interior to the north to Dawson Creek to Vancouver Island, where I live, to the lower mainland and to the Cariboo. It's a rich and diverse region. But with the coming of the Pacific gateway, there is one thing that is certain in the upcoming decade: British Columbia is going to be the centre of Canada's future.

           That hasn't quite caught on. I'm not going to belabour the opposition for some of the things that seem, to my mind, to get turned upside down — that surpluses are bad, that the economy's overheating. Many times we've heard them respond to our initiatives in the throne speech and the budget with some positive comments. I think this is a good thing. We do want to listen to our loyal opposition, and we do want to take ideas from them. Be they good ideas, we certainly would intend to use them and incorporate them and perhaps take full credit for them as well. But that's part of the political game.

           They like the ideas, but what I have the general sense of is that we just don't spend enough on them. I understand now, and that kind of puts it into perspective for me. Certainly, if we spent more, that would use up the surpluses. Yes, it would eliminate the excess of revenue overspending. I have to say, though, that that is not the policy or the direction this government takes. We do intend to respond in a meaningful way to support the needs of our constituents, but we intend to run the business of government in the black.

           This prosperity I speak of is not something we should take lightly. It's something to enjoy, certainly, but not something we need to take for granted. We need to build a sustainable future, and that's one of the aspects that's addressed in this budget.

           We need to put more money towards our youth. Our youth are our future. We need to put more money into education. We can certainly see, as our economy rolls along, that we are facing shortages of trained and skilled labourers. That's why I was very happy to see, particularly from my community, that there are more allocations for funding and resources to training and skills development among our youth.

           Ninety million dollars will be available as a tax credit. This program hasn't quite been a tax credit for training. This hasn't been quite fleshed out and developed, but it will be done in cooperation with business to provide them with incentives to develop the programs, in cooperation with the universities, to put apprenticeship and trades training into place. The $39 million available for the ITA — Industry Training Authority — will be funded through public and private educational institutions and, again, will fulfil the need, or will begin to fulfil the need, for training among our youth. We'll need every one of them trained that we can get.

           I recently visited, with the Minister of Small Business and Revenue, a Parksville operation called Detailed Design and Drafting, run by Nick Osmond. It's quite a unique facility. They have over 30 employees, and they do structural engineering — basically, the frame construction for steel buildings. They do this for buildings right across North America — in fact, right across the world. They're done here in this little second-storey building in Parksville. It's really quite an amazing operation. They have over 30 employees, and they're all young and well paid.

           Mr. Osmond has a very severe problem, and that is obtaining these skilled people, because it takes training above the usual CADCAM training. It takes aptitude, intelligence and imagination to run these programs. What he's been doing so far is offshoring his human resources needs. There are extensive training programs in India, where one company will start with a broad net, casting out for some 600 applicants. From this they'll narrow it down to 30, from 30 down to 20, and they'll train half a dozen. Of the half-dozen they train intensively, they'll hire perhaps two. Currently the Detailed Design and Drafting approach is to then hire those two and bring them over from India, because we can't get the training here.

           I think this program we've put forward, where we'll allow tax credits for training, will be of particular interest and benefit here. These are high-paying jobs; these are jobs here. I think it's worthwhile to note and credit the management and operation of this company. It would be a lot easier to run this company offshore, and that's being done more and more today — to move it to India, to hire the people there. Certainly, this high-tech kind of operation could be run anywhere in the world — anywhere there are laptop computers and modem connections. But they've chosen to be in Canada. They've chosen to be in our riding and are providing good education for our young citizens. To support these businesses, these entrepreneurs, with training programs, with ITA funding, is critical if we're going to build our knowledge-based industries.

           There is so much in this budget that I find as I go through it. There is more and more to it and more and more fills gaps within our needs. The $50 million natural resources and applied science endowment, I think, is a very intriguing one that will provide new products. We need to diversify our economy. We need to turn research, through engineering, into applied science, into new techniques, into new programs, into new products. We can have the intellectual property ownership of them here in Canada and develop new products for export and the enrichment of our economy.

           One of the programs, too, for youth that's been very, very successful in Nanaimo in my constituency is a program called BladeRunners. My colleague next to me from Kelowna expressed great interest in it. He and I are both of a generation where the connotation of "bladerunners" probably would have had a significantly different meaning some 20 or 30 years ago. It probably wouldn't be something you'd want to encourage youth to be involved with. I'll tell you what it is. Their basic philosophy is this: believing in the power and potential of youth. It's a powerful and simple vision statement.

           What they're attempting to do is link and connect young people coming out of school and unemployed people, ages 15 to 30, with contractors and trades, to get them involved and to develop the skills and learning so they can get a job, get to work and start to develop their career aspirations — basically, taking people off the street. Some of it is pre-employment training and helping them to develop what the employers' expectations are of them, what they'll be expected to do when they're working.

           It involves coaching and mentorship, job preparation in other ways — such as first-aid training, which is given to them, as well, so that they have the first level of training — and career planning and development. So as they start to get jobs and become productive citizens in our economy and their aspirations begin to rise, then they'll also be hooked up and shown the opportunities for apprenticeship training and other ways that they can further their education. It's a very, very valuable program. It's been very successful in Nanaimo, and I know that as it's expanded through other communities in the interior and throughout the province, it'll be very, very well used.

           I think this is the kind of program that's significant to endorse and to support, because it's training with a purpose. It takes into account the individual young person's goals and aspirations. It hooks them into something. It gives them a purpose in life and sets them on the right track. So it's very much a one-on-one, very much a hands-on kind of program, and it has been very successful in our community, particularly in taking youths off the street, giving them a purpose, giving them a direction in life and encouraging them with counselling and coaching. I see this is a very, very good program.

           One I don't know much about but I'm intrigued by, because it's not an area that's big on the Island, is the $2 million for mining exploration to develop and encourage youths to do prospecting, but also remediation. Again, I think that to encourage young people to become involved at an entry level in mining exploration and resource development is a very key program.

           This budget was full of surprises, and it offered a lot to people in all different walks and communities, but certainly, the big thrust of the budget is education, and $421 million is being committed over the next three years to address the needs of our young people — at an early age, absolutely, and right through, as I've just described, for youth in training. It's a very critical part of our future. There's no question. If anyone has attended any of David Baxter's seminars and discussions, we recognize that we're going to need every young person to be happy, working and productive in our community to support the rest of our society. There'll be a tremendous shortage of people, and you can't start too young.

           You can't ignore the fact that many are being distracted. Crystal meth has been a scourge here in many parts of the community, and I've been reading in the paper locally that now it's starting to raise its very ugly presence and head here in Victoria. It's a drug that with one dose, one experiment — one try-out, if you want — can cause permanent brain damage. Certainly, the $2 million funding here to address these concerns and to raise awareness among young people is absolutely critical.

           I would have to salute the SOS society in Parksville. SOS stands for Society of Services. It is quite a unique and very entrepreneurial model. They run a recycling clothing store of about 20,000 square feet and generate a vast amount of revenue, which they then turn back into social programs in the community. This group just won a community service award sponsored by the chamber of commerce for providing outstanding leadership in crystal meth awareness. Certainly, the Parksville community has taken a leadership role, identified the concerns and the dangers of crystal meth and is running regular programs to combat it. It's an absolute necessity that we be very strong, very firm and do whatever we can to nip this in the bud and eradicate this scourge of crystal meth. It's a deadly, awful thing.

           One of the other items that took my note in the budget was the $4 million to double the funding — and it hasn't been done since 1993 — for the school startup supplement. My wife has been involved with the local PAC where my two children are in elementary school, and she was always aware that the first day of school is such an important day for young people when they start off. It raises their expectations and hopes, and it has a lot to do with how they feel, their self-image.

           We're very sensitive of the poverty level among our young people. For people to go, "Well, I'm not really prepared. I don't have all the books. Other people have their shiny notebooks, their pencils and their coloured inks, but I don't…." It can be a very disheartening thing for young persons to go to school, not feel that they have a full shot at their opportunities for education and feel that they're somehow being treated as second-class. I know that my wife will take great pleasure in the fact that we're going to give them — some 29,000 school-aged children, through this $4 million doubling of the startup grant — a better first day in school. I think the first day is extremely important, and that will help.

           As I mentioned, this budget has a wide range of impacts throughout the learning and educational areas. One other successful program that addresses early learning that's been run in Parksville for some time and that will be supported by this budget is a program called BLT. And in case members think I'm about to bring in sandwiches, that is not the case. BLT in this particular case stands for Building Learning Together. It's an outreach program run by school district 69 in Parksville-Qualicum to all the community. It involves a wide range of the community.

           Basically, their mission statement is this: to enhance children's development by supporting strong family relationships and community capacity through effective learning opportunities. They have some 18 different programs. It's really quite amazing. It touches on my first metaphor, as well, as you'll see later, but let me just run through some of the programs.

           The communities of Parksville and Qualicum, of course, have the largest per capita of seniors in Canada, certainly — perhaps in North America — so they enlist their seniors, who are quite eager and have turned out in great numbers. In fact, they have over 200 seniors, who are called grand-buddies, and they help with the literacy programs, the teaching programs for these young people. They have over 13 Mother Goose sites. Let me just run through some of the 18 programs they run.

           Words on Wheels. This is an outreach bus that's very colourfully done. They took an old school bus, decked it out and drive it around. The seniors help them with this.

           Hug-a-Book. I think the names of these kind of tell what they do. I won't need to elaborate. Travelling Tales. BLT Backpacks — and again, that doesn't refer to the sandwiches. Circle of Friends Conference. There'll be a conference this coming March, and they'll bring the community together to look at ways that this program can work for them.

           Top Cop. The RCMP are extensively involved in the school program. Roots of Empathy, a well-known program that has been very successful in other areas as well, is run as part of this. Mother Goose Goes to School. They bring Mother Goose into the school. Stuffy Buddies, Treasure Boxes, Teaching From the Heart are all programs. Children Services Directory. Cook up a Story — that's one that might be of interest to many people.

           Of course, the latest — and this comes back to my metaphor and probably where I went wrong at the start of the day — is Munchkin Land. They use characters from the famous Wizard of Oz story in a miniaturized form that is designed to inspire and intrigue the children. You get a key. I got a key, and you get to go to Munchkin Land. You use the key, and the children then have something that's theirs. They can open up the door and unlock their start to learning and knowledge.

           All of these programs are exciting, and all of these programs are very good and what we need to be doing. I'm glad to see that the budget in its manifold opportunities and programs supports these types of initiatives in various communities. I'm sure this is one that will be spread throughout.

           I want to commend Deborah Davenport, who was here yesterday meeting with the Deputy Minister of Education. I hope that we'll see the opportunities and the imagination and the creativity of this program expanded to other communities in the province.

           We've heard about health care. We've heard about the fact that there are concerns about beds and places for our seniors. Again, certainly in my constituency of Nanaimo-Parksville, this is a real concern. This is a real need. But as other speakers have mentioned, particularly my colleague from Burrard, there's a need to change. It is no longer acceptable to warehouse our seniors.

           As we move from the transition to what is now known as complex care, yes, there will be shortages, and there will be concerns, but I have to tell you that in our area the needs are being met very, very well. In Nanaimo and in Parksville some 435 beds are being created. The request for proposals is out. That seems to be almost 10 percent of the entire total for the province, but it's needed in this area and responding. They're high-quality beds — beds like in Arrowsmith where they're renovating, gutting the old rooms and putting them back into a new, more modern facility — where seniors as couples can go and stay and not be separated as we've heard often in the House today.

           There's much, much more. There are tax cuts too. We're happy to see that the homeowners, too, will be seeking relief.

           I could go on, and I would like to go on. There is more, but I'm sure that other speakers will welcome the opportunity for me to sit down and for them to carry on. So I speak very heartily and strongly in favour of this budget, and I look forward to seeing the benefits and effects in my community.

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