DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (Hansard), October 3, 2005
J. Horgan: Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I still find it odd every time you say that - that I'm standing up. But here I am. I want to respect and honour your role now as Speaker of the House. You have done a fantastic job to this point in time, and I know you'll continue to do that through the term of this session.
It's truly an honour and a privilege for me to stand here today and address this chamber as the New Demmocrat member for Malahat-Juan de Fuca. I want to take the opportunity to thank some of the many volunteers who helped me get here.
But before I do that, I want to acknowledge the member for Vancouver-Kingsway, who is sitting beside me. He and I met in the House of Commons almost 20 years ago, and at that time I never thought I'd be sitting or standing beside you. Good to see you.
I do also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the patience and contribution and love of my family: my wife Ellie and my two sons Nate and Evan. Like other members in this House, my family will be making sacrifices over the coming years. I'm hopeful that they'll bear with me, and I know that they'll want to help when they can and get out of the way when they can't. Thank you, Nate, Evan and Ellie.
I also want to thank Bruce Fogg for managing my campaign and working so well with the many dozens of volunteers who came to Langford and to other points in Malahat-Juan de Fuca to re-elect a New Democrat in this constituency. Over the course of the campaign I made hundreds of new friends, and among them was a young lawyer named Kevin MacGillivray. His passion and youthful exuberance were reminders to all of us of the importance of involving young people in the political process. His idealism and commitment to social justice and his genuine interest in seeing the democratic process from the ground up kept us all young over the course of the campaign. I want to thank him for that.
He became a fixture at my side, whether it be knocking on doors, attending meetings, handing out leaflets - and even the dreaded Burma Shave. We even actually got out on the highway and waved at people, and there were no accidents caused, I'm happy to say. The Minister of Transportation will also be happy to hear that.
I want to just thank Kevin again for all of his efforts and wish him well in his law career. He became one of what we called Horgan's heroes over the course of the campaign, one of the scores of people who gave of themselves so that I could have the honour to sit in this place and represent the people of my community.
There were many ups and downs during the campaign, as we all know. One person in particular was always there with his quick wit and his booming radio voice, and that was Richard Hughes, a former regional director in the Cowichan Valley regional district and our candidate for election in 2001. I want to thank Richard for his contribution to this campaign and his tireless work to get me into this chair. I appreciate it. Thanks very much.
If anyone was driving through my constituency from Duncan to Langford or Port Renfrew to Sooke in April or May of this year, they would have seen a sign or two with my name on it. My sign crew was extraordinary, many of them in their 70s. They answered the bell for the campaign, as they had time after time after time. They blanketed our constituency, as distant and diverse as it is, with my name. I'm told that you could even catch a glimpse of a Horgan sign if you logged onto the Ministry of Transportation website and looked at the Malahat webcam. They did their research, and they did the best they could.
I'd like to thank regional director John Middleton and Bill Nelson, who managed the south Cowichan portion of my constituency. Councillor Ed Cooper, Jack Howe and Russ Bertram handled the lookout of the Malahat down to Langford and through to Metchosin. Bobby Woodford, Bill Wilson, Howard Reagan and Frank Mitchell swung their hammers from East Sooke past Otter Point to Shirley and beyond. These guys did a tremendous job, and I want to thank them for helping me get to this place.
I could mention dozens of other Horgan's heroes. But I could not stand in this House without recognizing a pillar in our party and an inspiration to me and many others who have come before me.
Without the support of Kay Mitchell, I would likely not have sought the NDP nomination in Malahat-Juan de Fuca. Kay has been working on campaigns and fighting for those without a voice all her life. She and her white-haired husband kept me on track and continue to remind me that the people who elected me are my first obligation. Constituency work is the primary job of an elected politician. As we all know, all politics is local. I intend to stay connected to the needs and views of my neighbours as my highest priority, and I hope I'll never forget that.
While I'm on the subject of Kay's husband, I'd like to acknowledge those that have represented our community in this Legislature over the decades. Most recently we were represented by Brian Kerr. Brian served from 2001 to the most recent election, when he retired to enjoy more time with his family. I want to thank Brian for his contribution to public life and to Malahat-Juan de Fuca.
From 1991 to 2001 we had a vocal and popular politician in this House, Rick Kasper, who worked tirelessly for the people of our riding. I am hopeful that I can make as much noise as he did and accomplish as much in my time here.
Before 1991 the riding of Malahat-Juan de Fuca was cut into two. The Cowichan Valley portion was represented by such notable MLAs as Sam Guthrie from 1937 to 1949; Bob Strachan from 1952 to 1975; and most recently Barbara Wallace from 1975 to 1986. Only three times in the past 70 years has the Cowichan Valley been represented by anyone other than a New Democrat or CCF member - quite a legacy.
The south of my constituency was held by Jimmy Gorst during the Barrett governments from '72 to '75, and before that the seat was held by Kay's husband Frank. Frank Mitchell was first elected in this constituency in 1951 and re-elected in the 1970s and the 1980s. At the age of 79 he and his sidekick, the mayor of Leechtown, Billy Wilson, kept me front and centre in the public mind in the communities of Sooke, Otter Point, East Sooke, Shirley and Port Renfrew. They even had time for a cold beverage now and again, and I certainly was prepared to oblige.
Following Frank's retirement, the southern portion of Malahat-Juan de Fuca was represented by a fellow named Moe Sihota. That's a familiar name to many in this House. I can see the Minister of Finance shuddering at the prospect of having to deal with Moe Sihota. He's not here anymore, and I'm sure the member from Langara can rest easy for now.
At the federal level my constituency has been represented by two NDP Premiers: Dave Barrett for British Columbia and Tommy Douglas, who represented this constituency from 1968 to 1975. Also, of course, the riding was represented by my friend and former employer Jim Manley. The elected representatives in this riding have always provided leadership, a commitment to social justice and have been champions for their community. I am daunted by this legacy of outstanding Canadians, and I commit to give my very best to meet the high standards they've set before me.
I believe strongly in public service and the importance of collective responsibility. My world-view was shaped by my family, as many others in here will say. When I was growing up here in Victoria....
I'm going to have to miss this part, Mom. Sorry, maybe another day.
It's quite unusual for me to be here at all. It wouldn't have happened had it not been for the sacrifices of my widowed mother, my two brothers and my sister Kathy. They have been a constant source of inspiration to me and have made numerous sacrifices so that I could stand here today.
I want to thank my friend from Kingsway for getting me out of that one, and I will now move on. Thank you, family. I appreciate it very, very much.
From north to south, east to west, Malahat-Juan de Fuca is one of the most spectacular ridings in this province. I know we're all going to say that when we stand up. We've seen commercials over the past 12 months that tell us that this is the most beautiful place in the world, but you know, we all know it is, and Malahat-Juan de Fuca is the pinnacle. My caucus colleagues are tired of me saying that, but I invite you all to drive through to see some of the spectacular scenery and the cultural traditions of my community.
It's a rich and long history, going back millennia. The first people to settle in my region were the Salish- and Nuu-chah-nulth-speaking people. Today the Cowichan tribes to the north are the most numerous, and across the Saanich Inlet are Tsartlip, Tseycum, Tsawout and Paquachin first nations. Living south of my riding are the Songhees people, the Esquimalt people and the Beecher Bay band. In my constituency the people of Malahat, Sooke and Pacheedaht are proud and part of my constituency. I am committed to work with these first nations to improve economic and social opportunity in the South Island, as it has been ignored for far too long.
The government has initiated a reconciliation program in this budget to accelerate the treaty process that was begun by the Harcourt government, and I want to applaud the government for this about-face on first nations issues. The early days of the Liberal administration were tarnished by what appeared to me to be a racist referendum on the terms of treaty-making. This new direction is welcome, and I am delighted that the government has gone this course. But I put the minister responsible and the Premier on notice that those on this side of the House want to ensure that progress is made on treaties and other measures to address the long-standing issues of fairness and justice for first nations that they expect and deserve.
As I said, the Cowichan Valley is made up of several distinct and vibrant communities. Mill Bay is the northern terminus of the scenic Mill Bay-Brentwood Bay ferry route. Shawnigan Lake was once a holiday destination but has transformed into a vibrant year-round community growing faster than many residents would like. I recall my summers there, at the Hutchison property, chopping wood, swimming, canoeing - not a care in the world. I had no idea that one day I would represent that area in the Legislature, but my memories of that simpler time have shaped my perspective today.
Growth must be tied to the ability of the land to sustain that development. After I left high school, I worked in the pulp mill in Ocean Falls, one of the more interesting places I have laid my head over the years, I have to say. When the fibre supply dried up, the Social Credit government of the day shut the town down in 1979. Based on that experience, I should have had an inkling, when I lived in Cobble Hill in the early '80s, that a transformation was beginning in the forest industry. I worked summers at the Cowichan joinery as I went to university. At that time I had no notion that hundreds and hundreds of trucks of raw logs would be leaving my community. It seemed impossible at the time in a community dotted with mills and forest land as far as you can see, but that's the reality of today. That is what the forest sector faces in my community: trucks driving from the valley, not supporting millworkers, not supporting the community.
In the valley, in Sooke, in Jordan River, in Port Renfrew, fewer families are supported by the forest industry than ever before. The industry continues to make enormous profits on the coast but employs fewer and fewer workers. Instead of developing value-added industries and linking access to wood to increased employment, the current government takes donations from large operators and streamlines processes so profits can continue.
Growing up, I also marvelled at the vast tracts of farmland from Dougans Lake, just north of Cobble Hill, through to Cowichan Station and Glenora - all vibrant communities today. Again, I never expected to be supporting and representing agricultural communities. I've never been much of a farmer. My brother raised a few pigs in Cobble Hill back in the '80s. I found that a challenge. They always got out; I could never get them back in the pen. I'm proud and honoured to be representing agriculturalists in the Cowichan Valley today.
The Farmers Institute is a vibrant organization. The 90th annual Cobble Hill fair took place this September. There were pigs there, and somehow they managed to keep them in the pen. I watched, and I just can't figure it out. It's beyond my capacity, I suppose.
There are new opportunities in the valley, new agricultural opportunities, vineyards galore - Malahat Estates, Cherry Point Vineyards - all doing very, very well and establishing a wine industry similar to yours, Madam Speaker, on the southern portion of Vancouver Island.
Agritourism is a new and exciting opportunity in the valley as well. Coupled with the lakes, rivers and trails throughout the region, the south Cowichan is one of the hottest tourist destinations on the Island.
The development of the Trans Canada Trail has opened up the region to cycling tours and other ecotourism opportunities. However, a major impediment to this is the historic-to-some, dilapidated-to-others Kinsol Trestle, which spans the Koksilah River just north of Shawnigan Lake. This gap in the trail is impassable, unsafe and in need of immediate attention.
Cowichan Bay, on the east side of the riding, is also rich in history and tradition. An abundance of salmon and shellfish make the waterfront the centre of activity during the annual spawn of the Cowichan and Koksilah rivers. On the highway you'll find the historic Whippletree Junction, a commercial area designed to take customers back to a simpler time. Cow Bay is also home to the famous South Cowichan Lawn Tennis Club. Established in 1887, it is the last tennis club in Canada to still play on lawn.
The natural beauty and abundance of Malahat-Juan de Fuca is not limited to the Cowichan Valley, of course. Port Renfrew, at the mouth of the San Juan River, is the foot of the world-renowned West Coast Trail. I have committed to lose ten pounds so that my friend from Alberni-Qualicum can carry me on his back the length of the trail into his constituency in the town of Bamfield.
The Juan de Fuca Trail was created in the 1990s as a recreation area for locals and visitors to enjoy. French Creek, China Beach and other provincial parks in the Sooke area are highlights for anyone who is visiting the riding, and I encourage you to do so.
Similarly, surfing at Sombrio Beach attracts boarders from around the world. When I lived in Australia - I was doing my master's thesis there - I would go to Bondi Beach to do some surfing. They'd say: "Where are you from, mate?" I'd say: "I'm from Vancouver Island." They would say: "Do you ever surf Sombrio?" I said: "No, I haven't, and no, I won't." I've been there. The kids are good, boarders are plenty, and it's a contribution to the tourist economy in Sooke and regions around there.
A magnificent location, also, to look at would be Point No Point, or the Sheringham lighthouse in Shirley, and lastly, and most importantly to me, the newly created Sooke Potholes Regional Park. As a kid I used to go to the Sooke potholes and dive off the cliffs, and my children went there and wanted to dive off the cliffs, and I said: "No chance." My spouse, the great enabler, said: "Go ahead, dear. Your father's not watching." There they were, jumping off the cliffs.
It's a fantastic place, and I invite all members to take a trip to Sooke and visit the potholes next summer. We used to gauge our summer success on the number of times we were able to take a dip in the cool waters of the potholes. I now know that as an enshrined regional park, I will be able to spend my Julys and Augusts, well into the future, making my pilgrimages to the potholes.
Over the course of the campaign I made a pledge to the people of my region and constituency that I would work tirelessly and relentlessly to advance issues in their communities. I outlined some key objectives, and you'll all be aware that health care and education are foremost among those. I also focused a good deal of my attention on transportation infrastructure in the south Island.
Let's start with health care for a moment. It's easily the number-one issue facing our generation, and all of us in this House will have to work very, very hard over the next four years if we're going to be prepared for the bubble of baby-boomers wanting to access health care services into the next decade.
As our citizens age, the need for seniors care is increasing. In Sooke, particularly, community leaders have been seeking government commitments for extended care beds from VIHA and B.C. Housing for some time. This is not a spur-of-the-moment idea in Sooke. The Sooke Elderly Citizens Housing Society has been in existence since the 1960s. The Ayre Manor site now has 18 independent living units and there are plans for many, many more. Local government has waived development cost charges and other local taxes. Volunteers have donated time and labour. All of this is in aid of seeking some assistance from B.C. Housing, in particular, in a solid commitment to fund some of these beds.
Support for increased seniors housing is the highest priority I have in the community of Sooke, and dreams of a health campus and primary care and other health care facilities in that distant west coast community are also high on that priority list.
I have the honour of being the education critic for my party, and based on legislation tabled today, I suspect I will have a lot to say about that in the next couple of days. So I won't go on too long now, but I would like to mention one thing that is very important to me, my family and the people of Sooke, Langford and school district 62, and that is the urgent need for a new high school in our community.
My children are currently housed with 1,700 other students in a school built for 1,200. The situation is critical. School board plans are in place. Growth studies have been completed. Land acquisition is at hand. What our growing community needs is for the provincial government to advance capital spending so that we can break ground earlier than the plan provides for. During the election campaign a Liberal candidate in the adjoining riding alleged to have extracted a commitment from the Premier to advance this project by one year, and I'm hopeful that the Minister of Finance and I will be able to have a discussion about that in the very near future.
Improved transit in Sooke, Langford and south Cowichan - very high priority for me. Linking the Cowichan and Victoria services is long overdue and will help reduce automobile traffic in our community. The growth in Langford over the past ten years has been nothing short of extraordinary. Every corner of that community is bustling with new subdivisions - thousands of houses in the east, thousands in the west, thousands in the north, thousands in the south. A vibrant and dynamic community led by a council that committed itself to growth and progress and perhaps has met the enemy of all growth, and that is chronic gridlock.
I know my colleagues from the city of Vancouver speak passionately about the important issues of transportation in the lower mainland. I believe that my colleagues are probably getting a little bit tired of me speaking about transportation issues in the South Island, but that's our job. That's why we're here: to advance issues of importance in our community. Nothing is more important in the South Island than addressing the growing transportation problems from Nanaimo, south.
As I said earlier, development cannot exceed the ability of the land to absorb change. That also means planning transportation before subdivisions are completed, not after. T he time has arrived, I believe, for a serious assessment of rapid transit in the lower Island and the Western Communities of Victoria. The E&N rail corridor is an obvious starting point for commuter rail and rail service from south of Duncan into Langford and the downtown core. There is much work to be done, but a commitment from local governments and the province to an honest dialogue on this important matter is critical during this session of the Legislature. I'm ready to meet with the minister and his officials any time, anywhere, any place, to advance this cause, as are my colleagues from Esquimalt-Metchosin and Cowichan-Ladysmith.
You may have heard me speak - I know my colleagues have - about a certain portion of the highway in my community. That is the only portion of highway that connects the North Island to the South Island. I see the member from Comox here. He travels it regularly. I know he is as concerned about this issue as I am. As I say, my colleagues in caucus are also very much tired of me mentioning, but the Malahat drive is the single most important issue for me in this session of the Legislature.
I know the Minister of Transportation has begun a study. I'm very pleased by that. I spoke with him briefly in the corridor yesterday. He is committed to making that study as broadly based as possible so that we don't reduce our options but, in fact, expand upon our options.
I have no favoured position. I think it's important that I say that, based on the volume of mail, e-mail and telephone calls I've been getting on the question of the Malahat. There are a number of options available. I'm prepared to talk to my constituents about them, but I don't believe it's appropriate to rule issues out before we have a full costing and a full engineering analysis of what can and can't be done.
In the short term, of course, I want to appeal to commuters, transport companies and other road-users to slow down, obey posted limits, drive defensively and respect other drivers. Behaviour will solve some of our problems, but safety improvements are also critical. In the short term, I appeal to the Minister of Transportation to institute some safety measures like dividers at key points on the highway so that we can reduce accidents and save lives.
I have heard countless times during this short session about the dark decade of the '90s. I realize that members opposite are bound by their public affairs colleagues to spew that out from time to time, but I'm compelled to challenge some of that mythology here today while I have the opportunity, free from the heckling I'm sure will accompany my speeches in the future.
During the 1990s I was proud to have worked in the Premier's office, first as a policy analyst and later as chief of staff, helping implement what I believed at the time and continue to believe today was a positive agenda that was highlighted by such policies as hot lunch programs for inner-city schools; significant infrastructure developments like the Vancouver Island Highway project, which again, the member from Comox, I'm sure, is grateful for; comprehensive land use planning; the environmental protection act; the Forest Practices Code; the Columbia Basin Trust; the Nisga'a treaty; and many, many more issues that deserve more attention than they get in this House or in the media.
The annual growth during our time in government was over 3 percent. Real economic growth exceeded 3 percent in 1993, 1997, 1999 and 4.5 percent in the year 2000. The government of the day faced changes in the economy, as does the government today. The transition from resource dependence to a more diversified economy required tough choices, targeted investments and a commitment to see the projects through.
The decisions and policies of the NDP government of the day did not answer all of the problems of a softening export market in Asia or global restructuring, but it did get balanced budgets by the end of the decade and enormous growth in the service sector, particularly tourism, film and high technology.
While the economy grew, we invested in housing, social programs and built new infrastructure - new schools, new health facilities and new universities. You might think, Madam Speaker, listening to me talk now, that I was on the other side of the House, based on the speeches we've heard about the past four years and the contributions and accomplishments of the Liberal government.
That's where I would like to focus my attention at this point, because there's not a great deal of difference between the people on this side of the House and the people on that side of the House. We were all elected to do the best we can for our community, but we can't get past this drivel. I heard the member for Burquitlam, yesterday or the day before, going on and on about "dark" and "shambles" - that British Columbia was in a shambles in the 1990s. Not true. Just not true.
Let's take that mythology, and let's put it in a little box and wrap it up and say: "Election rhetoric. Do not open until 2009." And let's spend our time in this Legislature tackling the real problems we face in our communities, the real issues that our constituents want to talk about. They don't want to hear about the dismal decade of the '90s, because they know that just ain't so. They don't want to hear every time a new statistic comes out and the public affairs bureau spins it out as the greatest thing that's ever happened in the history of British Columbia, because they don't believe that either.
I know the members opposite don't believe it. Why don't we all save ourselves a lot of trouble, take the rhetoric, wrap it up and bring it out four years from now? Let's spend our time in this Legislature talking about issues of substance, issues of reality, for the people we represent. One of those issues that I want to comment on is the SAFER program, which the Minister of Finance discussed in her minibudget. This is very good news for people in my community, particularly with respect to pad rentals in mobile home parks.
I have a number of mobile home parks in my community, and I know that citizens in my community are very happy to see that. I want to see the proof in the pudding, of course. I understand there are some issues around thresholds, and we'll have to work through that, but I know the member for Vancouver-Langara is going to be open and accessible if I find that her commitments in the budget aren't hitting the road in my community as she planned them to. I look forward to that discussion.
Let's go back again to the dismal decade of the 1990s just for a minute. Let's talk about the Tatshenshini Park in northern British Columbia, an absolute jewel and diamond in our midst, along with 345 other new protected areas and parks - and British Columbia again being the first jurisdiction in North America to reach the UN target of 12 percent of the land base protected for all time.
We expanded public transit; we invested in transportation. It was a decade of human growth and capital growth, regardless of what the PAB spinners will tell you. But while the government was investing in people and in the province, the federal government was yanking billions of dollars in transfer payments out of our budget, starving public education, starving public health at a point in history when the demand could not have been greater.
Was the decade perfect? Of course it wasn't. Was it dark? Was it dismal? Was it disastrous? Absolutely not, and I appeal to the members opposite. I appeal to the member for Vancouver-Burrard, whom I've talked to about this: leave the rhetoric in a box. Let's talk about the good things in 1990. Let's talk about the good things in 1995. Let's talk about the things we want to see in 2009. Let's not waste our time recreating history in a way that just ain't happening.
That was what the government inherited. You know, I'm reminded of Dickens. It depends, I guess, on who's making the speech: that it was the best of times, or it was the worst of times. My recollection is that it wasn't so bad, but maybe that's because we were on that side of the House at the time, and now we're on this side. The government on that side of the House inherited some very positive things from the 1990s. I want to touch on those for a moment.
Certainty on the land base. Land use planning in the 1990s established a framework so that growth could take place in resource communities from 2001 on.
Interjections.
J. Horgan: Yes, it did. Yes, it did, and you know it did. You should acknowledge that. Your constituents will be happy if you sit up and acknowledge for once that something good happened in the 1990s.
Interjections.
J. Horgan: There you go. Thank you very much. I was going to let the member for Langley heckle me because I let a word spit out when she was talking. But I don't see her here today, although I'm not supposed to acknowledge that. She owes me two now.
What was the first order of business of the Campbell government? Without a business plan, without any detailed review of the consequences, an $800 million tax break for corporations. Once the hole was blown in the budget and revenue lost forever, they began to cut important public services and increase taxes and fees for those who could least afford to pay it.
I've already said I'm going to leave my rhetoric in a box, so I want you to know that it's the last time you're going to hear me talk about massive tax breaks in the 2001-2005 period. But that doesn't absolve the Minister of Finance for shots about the $500 million she gave away just two weeks ago.
Deputy Speaker: Member, note the time.
J. Horgan: Voters in my constituency voted for balance.
I want to thank you, Madam Speaker, for your time. I want to thank members of the House for allowing me to speak today. I look forward to the next four years. Let's put the rhetoric in a box. Let's solve problems for the people in our province.
