VANCOUVER – While the Liberal premier heads off on a trip to China without any clear plan or set of targets, British Columbia is shedding jobs, and construction has stalled due to the Liberals’ sluggish transition back to the PST.

“Adrian Dix and the New Democrats have been calling for a swift return to the PST ever since the Liberals’ HST was rejected by British Columbians,” said New Democrat finance critic Bruce Ralston.“The economic uncertainty associated with the Liberals’ sluggish transition has had such an effect on British Columbia’s construction industry that it’s dragging down Canada as a whole.”

According to a report from Statistics Canada Friday, “The decline [in September’s building permits] nationally was mainly attributable to lower construction intentions for both the residential and non-residential sectors in British Columbia.”

“To add to the province’s woes, British Columbia also shed another 11,000 jobs in October,” said Ralston. “This is more bad news for B.C. at a time when the province needs some stability and certainty.”

The latest Statistics Canada numbers show British Columbia saw a dramatic 21.2-per-cent drop in the value of building permits in September, and a 38.7-per-cent drop year over year. The report also shows a 0.5-per-cent drop in the number of jobsin B.C. – nearly 11,000 positions.

“While B.C. needs certainty and a swift return to the PST, the premier instead is off on a trade trip to China void of any clear plan or set of targets,” said Ralston.

Ralston said the premier has put all of her eggs in one basket just like the Liberals did with the HST. True to form, there are lots of photo opportunities and few details.

“By contrast, New Zealand has developed a trade and enterprise crown agency with a fully costed budget and set of measurable goals,” said Ralston. “The B.C. premier, however, just looks at the camera and says ‘Canada Starts Here’ as if that’s supposed to give comfort to the thousands of people in the forest industry who have lost their jobs over the last few years thanks to Liberal forest policy.”

The Statistics Canada report for Nov. 4 can be found here: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dai-quo/index-eng.htm