The Liberals have introduced bills that will change a slew of policies.
They include allowing charities to auction off liquor, allowing area-based tenure instead of volume-based for forest companies, and naming the pacific salmon as B.C.’s official fish.
As well, Health Minister Margaret Macdiarmid says people on long vacations will now enjoy Medicare coverage for a bit longer.
“They can be out of the province for six months, but no more and if they’re out for longer than that, then their MDP is no longer valid.
“This allows them to have a little flexibility and be away for a little longer if they wish to, and it’s been something snowbirds have been asking for for a long, long time.”
The change means you can now be out of the country for seven months before your Medicare coverage expires.
Meanwhile, B.C. already has an official bird (the stellar jay), an official mammal (the spirit bear), an official flower (the dogwood, of course), and an official tree (a red cedar).
Now the government is naming the pacific salmon as B.C.’s official fish, something New Democrat MLA Spencer Chandra-Herbert called for in 2010.
“I love salmon, whether or not it’s on a plate, or fishing, or just being out in nature and seeing them jumping.”
Oh, B.C. has an official mineral too: jade.
The Clark government’s budget was also under attack in the legislature today, with the opposition New Democrats scoffing that it’s not balanced as the Liberals claim.
The NDP says the budget will mean cuts to health care and other services, and that plans to raise at least $ 450 million through land sales won’t pan out.
“It’s the liberal’s fifth deficit budget in a row,” says NDP leader Adrian Dix. “What the people of British Columbia remember, Honourable Speaker, is bogus budget 2009, and now they’re really concerned about bogus budget 2013!”
But Finance Minister Mike de Jong fired back at the NDP’s pledge to balance the budget over an undefined “economic cycle,” chanting: “Tomorrow! Tomorrow! We’ll balance tomorrow!”
He adds health care spending is increasing, just at a lower rate.
And, the NDP says Clark has abandoned her promise to restrict the use of cosmetic pesticides.
Legislation introduced today will expand rules for the use of pesticide to people who work on private landscaped areas.
“What we think of as cosmetic pesticides will only be used by someone who is certified, who is licensed to be able to use them,” says Environment Minister Terry Lake.
But critic Rob Fleming says that falls far short of Clark’s promise to ban cosmetic pesticides.
“And she’s been unable, and unwilling, to fulfill that.”
What’s more, the rule change does not apply to the agriculture industry, forestry, golf courses and industrial land – and municipalities and first nations can opt out.
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