The Sea to Sky Corridor will reap the benefits of the next provincial agenda as described by Premier Gordon Campbell during his Throne Speech Tuesday (Feb. 13), according to West Vancouver-Garibaldi MLA Joan McIntyre.
The third session of the 38th parliament was launched Tuesday with a speech that introduces a new Pacific Leadership agenda focusing on greenhouse gas emissions, education, health, First Nations and homelessness.
"I'm very confident, when it comes to his [Campbell's] record, that he'll get it done," said McIntyre.
Among the numerous points of B.C.'s new global warming strategy, the hydrogen highway - intended to pass through the corridor - was given a federal-provincial infusion of $89 million.
"Climate change is real and British Columbians are telling us we must do more," said Campbell.
A new First Nations tourism blueprint is expected to dovetail into Lil'Wat and Squamish bands' projects.
The Sea to Sky corridor is home to two of the four First Nations hosting the 2010 Olympics, and the aboriginal community has been successful in taking advantage of opportunities with the launch of a lucrative logging operation and the inauguration of the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre, said McIntyre.
"They'll connect it with our aboriginal tourism blueprint, which is the first of its kind in Canada," she said.
Upcoming land negotiations will be challenging, however, said McIntyre.
"It's going to be complicated and complex and I'm hoping everybody will give us some time to work through it," she said. "I think we're just going to have to all be very patient and see how this unfolds and be very respectful of each other."
Campbell's promises for education reinforce Howe Sound Secondary School's new education programs, which offer youth and adults the opportunity to pay for apprenticeships. He also promises to "give teachers new recognition and financial incentives".
BC Teachers' Federation, however, responded critically to the throne speech.
"There is nothing in the Throne Speech for the students who are still waiting for the support they need. There is nothing in the Throne Speech for the students who are lost in oversized classrooms," stated Irene Lanzinger, BCTF first vice-president in a news release.
"Instead, the Liberal government plans to add more bureaucracy and more data collection, neither of which improves teaching and learning."
A long anticipated funding infusion for Capilano College's Squamish campus expansion is still undetermined, said McIntyre, but clarification will come with Campbell's budget announcement Tuesday (Feb. 20).
Healthcare played a relatively small role in B.C.'s agenda with three initiatives: implementing new electronic medical records system and surgical patient registry and providing the BC Health Guide in Punjabi and Chinese.
