Despite serious challenges facing British Columbia, the Liberal government under Premier Christy Clark has spent a significant portion of the past year campaigning instead of governing, spending valuable public resources on pre-election advertising and staging photo-ops instead of doing the hard work of actually governing.
Here are just a few of the pressing issues at the start of 2012 that remain unresolved – or have actually gotten worse – as the year draws to a close.
Skills training
Business leaders have been warning about a looming skilled labour shortage for several years. This came to a head in 2012 when a mining company announced plans to import workers, saying that there were no British Columbians with the necessary skills for the jobs available. Underlining the government’s failures, the only ministry that received a nominal cut in the 2012 Liberal budget was the ministry that oversees skills training.
New Democrats proposed: Increased funding for skills training and the re-instatement of non-repayable needs-based grants for B.C. students.
Poverty and inequality
Under the Liberals, B.C. has earned the unfortunate distinction of having the worst overall poverty rate in Canada and the highest income inequality of all provinces and territories.
New Democrats proposed: A province-wide poverty reduction strategy with measurable goals and targets. Tackling inequality would be a major priority for a New Democrat government.
HST
The Liberals have squandered their entire term in office since the 2009 election preoccupied with the HST. As a result, many critical issues facing British Columbians have been ignored. Making matters worse, British Columbians are still paying more for thousands of purchases – from haircuts to restaurant meals to funerals – and will continue to pay more until April 2013 when the tax is finally repealed.
New Democrats proposed: Joining forces with thousands of British Columbians who soundly rejected the HST, New Democrats repeatedly raised concerns about the negative impacts of the HST on families and small businesses, campaigned for the elimination of the tax, and advocated for a faster return to the PST.
Enbridge pipeline
The B.C. Liberals abdicated their responsibility and ignored the voices of B.C. communities, First Nations and businesses by handing over decision-making power for the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project to the federal government. Despite the threat to British Columbia’s pristine wilderness, rivers and coastal communities, they avoided taking a stance for months, missed the deadline to present evidence to the review panel, and fought to keep their own internal assessment of the project secret. Only after intense public criticism, the Liberals came up with “five conditions” that must be met in order to approve the project – conditions which largely already exist in law, and do little to actually protect B.C.’s interests.
New Democrats proposed: Adrian Dix and the New Democrats are opposed to the Enbridge pipeline, and will reclaim B.C.’s legal jurisdiction to conduct a “made in B.C.” environmental assessment to ensure the voices of all British Columbians are heard.
Raw log exports
In 2011, more than 5.5 million cubic metres of raw logs were exported from British Columbia, resulting in mill closures and thousands of lost job opportunities. By the end of November 2012, log exports were on pace to break that sad record. The Liberal minister, who has failed to deliver on a spring 2011 promise to review export policies, has overruled his own expert panel 86 times to ensure that logs that could have created B.C. jobs were instead exported.
New Democrats proposed: We will take steps to reduce raw log exports and get more value-added jobs out of B.C.’s forests and ensure B.C. logs create B.C. jobs.
Seniors care
Early in 2012, Ombudsperson Kim Carter released a scathing report into the state of seniors care in British Columbia. The 400-page report included 143 findings and 179 specific recommendations into fixing the problems caused by Liberal inaction. An update from the ombudsperson this month shows that 74 per cent of her recommendations have not been acted on.
New Democrats proposed: New Democrats will work to improve health care and home support services for seniors, making residential care more stable and ensuring the needs of seniors and their families are made a priority. New Democrats have led the way on establishing a seniors’ advocate, first proposing legislation in 2007.
Quote from New Democrat caucus chair Shane Simpson:
“2012 has offered another year of poor decisions and mismanagement of provincial resources by the B.C. Liberals. The Liberals have chosen to invest much more time in electioneering than governing and this is reflected in the lack of leadership we are seeing today in B.C. Everyone from students and families to seniors and skilled workers are facing real challenges with no meaningful support from the B.C. Liberal government.”
The B.C. Liberals are not up to the challenges that face B.C. today, and British Columbians deserve better. It’s time for a change to a new government with new priorities. B.C.’s New Democrats are offering change for the better, one practical step at a time.