Mike Morris got his first taste of the pomp and ceremony of the B.C. legislature Wednesday as the newly elected Prince George-Mackenzie MLA took in the throne speech.
Morris took his seat in the legislature as Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon delivered a speech that touched on the main themes of the Liberal government's spring election platform.
"We're sticking to our guns, which I like, it's what we campaigned on," Morris said. "We're not changing anything."
Morris succeeded longtime cabinet minister Pat Bell in May's election and although he didn't make it on to the executive council right away, the former RCMP superintendent and trapper said he's in awe of his new responsibilities.
"Just coming down here and trying to grasp with the reality that I now have keys to the legislature, which not too many people do, it's a very humbling and overwhelming experience," he said.
With headings of "strong economy" and "secure tomorrow," the speech touched on the potential for liquified natural gas development, income and carbon tax freezes for five years and increased trade with Asia.
NDP leader Adrian Dix criticized the throne speech, telling Vancouver radio station CNKW that the Liberals are too focused on their slogans and photo ops and are out of touch with the concerns of British Columbians.
He also said to the Canadian Press that the throne speech's claims of creating jobs and cutting the debt do not reflect the realities of B.C.'s increasing debt and private-sector job losses.
"Getting the job done on a jobs plan, getting the job done in building infrastructure, getting the job done on skills training requires more than wearing hard hats; it requires actual government policies that will promote those things, and that's what we're lacking," said Dix.
In the speech, Guichon said the Liberals plan to accelerate their jobs plan during the next term, something Morris said could help the northern half of the province.
"We've got a lot of potential projects that are out there, there are a lot of dollars being invested in the various economic projects and we need people to fill them," he said. "We're going to start looking and trying to locate people who want to move to the region where we've got work."
The speech didn't touch at all on forestry and the Wood Innovation and Design Centre, which had been a staple of past throne speeches.
"Forestry is alive and well in the province," Morris said, noting that the
innovation centre in Prince George is already under construction. "We're concentrating on the things we can make a difference on right away, which is natural gas - that's a big one for us and we're going to put a lot of effort into making sure that comes into fruition."
The main goal of the brief summer session is to pass the provincial budget, which was presented prior to May's election. It will be re-introduced on Thursday and Morris expects it will be similar to the one Finance Minister Mike de Jong presented in February.
"I don't anticipate any great changes," Morris said. "We're committed to a balanced budget and I'm sure that's what we're going to see."
-- with files from The Canadian Press
