There's nothing wishy-washy, or fence sitting in these words ... that's because we believe British Columbian's deserve nothing less!

We've certainly had no end of swerving from side to side, by the BC Liberals and NDP, when it comes to job creation in resource development, and other major development projects.

 

So where do the BC Conservatives stand on things.  Unlike Christy Clark and Adrian Dix, BC Conservative party leader John Cummins has been crystal clear;

Can anyone explain what NEW jobs, and
the development needed for them to occur,
the BC Liberals actually do support?

 

The BC Liberals say that they want to encourage investment and job creation, but do they, really? When a controversial project is proposed, does Christy Clark show leadership? Or does she sit on the fence, waiting to see which way the wind blows? 

Does anybody think this will change under an NDP government led by Adrian Dix? They seem to believe it’s okay to reject every new proposal of capital investment that comes along. The NDP of course, are not opposed to new jobs … they just believe that all new jobs should be created in the public sector ... government jobs in other words.

 

 The BC Conservatives are not afraid to take tough positions … and we are not afraid of straight talk either.  We believe that policies to encourage new investment must be a top priority for BC's next government.  And, we know and have stated that a major component of new investment must be the creation of high-paying jobs. 

 

That led a friend of mine from social media to ask;

Al, what are some examples? I am not meaning to be a smart ass, but was curious which projects this would encompass.  Does this mean the BCCP is in favour of all of them? Some of them? This interests because much of my work relates to this sort of stuff and I wonder what the process would look like under the BC Conservatives.

Under both NDP & Liberal led governments,
wages and salaries for good well-paying
resource and industrial sector jobs (as a % of
GDP in BC), has shrunk by 5%.  Meantime
CEO's / management, in government ministries
and agencies, have been busy awarding themselves
a number of pay raises and bonuses.  This while
the number of front line workers, who actually
deliver services, has been reduced.

Well ... both NDP and BC Liberals talk out of both sides of their mouths when it comes to development --- BUT one thing you will NOT hear them say is that they are in favor of moving forward on resource development and large scale projects. 

That's because they fear what MIGHT be coming at them from environmental groups.

BC Conservatives on the other hand have said we WELCOME development -- and the well-paying union, and spin-off jobs (family supporting jobs) that will come from it.

When Mike Harcourt led the NDP to power in 1991, wages and salaries accounted for 56.6% of our provinces gross domestic product. Now, after two decades of NDP incompetence and BC Liberal mismanagement, that has dropped to 51.7% of GDP.

YES ... we will ensure tough environmental guidelines are in place, but OUR starting point is in having a renewed priority, and belief, in economic development – and especially on the creation of high-paying jobs.

This is how we differ from NDP and BC Liberals ... We believe in carrying out responsible, FACT-BASED stewardship of the environment. A BC Conservative government will base its decisions on the best available SCIENTIFIC data ... not emotional rhetoric.

The Liberal Party have everything to fear by our growth (much as Social Credit did when the Liberal Party came back from the wilderness)

Today I am going to share with you, part of a letter, which was received by one of our Kamloops Constituency Association board members.  I think in reading it, you will find it echoes the response of some people you yourself may have spoken, or been in touch with: 

I am very conservative fiscally and probably small ‘c’ conservative socially, a strong believer in free enterprise but with a social conscience.

I was initially intrigued by the BC conservative movement, I was interested in its direction.  Had some high hopes that it could find a place in BC politics.

I must say I am presently disillusioned by many of the actions ... 

Sound familiar --- are you becoming disillusioned your self when you hear those words, or others similar.  

Well "Buck Up, because here is a response that MUST be delivered to those who believe in what we are trying to do, but are been swayed by outside influences.  And ... every word of what follows IS true!

Dear John Doe ...

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond, and let me say right off the bat that I appreciate your candor in the remarks you made.  If  I were to say, I was not discouraged, by the events that took place this past Summer, I would not be speaking the truth. 

That said, I attended the party AGM held in Langley, and what I saw and felt, was the heart and soul of the membership striving and working towards achieving approval of new policy that would be part of our platform next May.

I also saw our rank and file members listening intently to the words of those who were seeking the lead the party on the Executive and Board of Directors.  Given the overwhelming mandate those elected received, it is obvious that we have majority support for our party leader John Cummins.

Let me also say that he, like anyone one else, has his flaws, however our party is NOT the John Cummins Party.  It is the BC Conservative Party, and we the members (the grassroots) are the people that drive it ... unlike the Adrian Dix led NDP ... and Christy Clark led BC Liberals.

We have lost some of our members through-out the internal problems we had -- those however were NOT the people that stood behind the majority of our membership who are firmly behind a bottom up approach, rather than one led from the top down. 

Those individuals, who are now gone, were more concerned with having their own way, in creating their own little empires, rather than supporting the aspirations of our members. 

We have come out the other side --- we are stronger for the trials we went through -- and our members KNOW the party does, and will, stand behind the will and direction of its members.