You are right Kevin (Krueger), "None of this happened by accident". These things happened on the watch of the BC Liberal government

Yesterday on Facebook I posted the following that I came across from the Victoria Times Colonist, "Editorial: Stagnant B.C. needs renewal". 

Part of the editorial stated that:

Real wage rates for low-income earners in B.C. have stagnated and now lag the rest of the country. That’s one reason we have the second-worst child-poverty rate in Canada. That is both a shame and a failure.

So what is to be done? There are warnings here for whichever party wins the provincial election in May. Policies that divide us, whether by favouring one group or hammering another, have not worked ...

It prompted my Kamloops South Thompson BC Liberal MLA Kevin Krueger to come back, taking a swipe at the BC Conservative Party, which I support:

Maybe you folks would benefit from a name change, in line with "truth in advertising." I know, how about "The Black Cloud Party."

If the world is in recession, and has been for 5 years, once-powerful European countries are insolvent, the USA is running $trillions in debt, but BC will have a balanced budget April 1 and has hundreds of thousands more jobs than ever before, with hundreds of thousands becoming available, isn't that a GOOD thing?

Well folks ... what do you think ... is it a good thing we have been getting from Christy Clark led BC Liberal government?  I think I know the answer I would receive from many -- but I did have to follow up and ask my friend Kevin;

Why is it that you treat the truth with such disdain? The content of this piece (from the Times Colonist) simply echoes what has been reported elsewhere, by several other publications, and writers, that are well know.

Not only are we falling behind in income earned by British Columbians, compared to most provinces in Canada, our employment rate is also NOT increasing. This despite millions being spent, by your BC Liberal government, on highly partisan ads that are blatant distortions of the truth.

You claim that what I say is untruthful, Kevin? Would you say the same of Stats Canada? You should know by now that I research what I say. I do NOT make things up, unlike the ads you and Premier Christy Clark are so proud of.

NOW ... lets quote Stats Canada ... December 2012:
"In British Columbia, employment was LITTLE CHANGED in December and the unemployment rate declined 0.3 percentage points to 6.5%. COMPARED WITH 12 MONTH EARLIER, EMPLOYMENT WAS LITTLE CHANGED.

I have added the caps on the parts which are pertinent, but other than that, the above is a direct quote in the section marked "Gains in several provinces"

And ... this same information from Stats Canada also notes Alberta has the lowest unemployment in Canada, and the other two western provinces (Saskatchewan and Manitoba) both had GAINS in the number of people employed. Just a reminder that the information I noted above says BC has basically had NO employment gains in the past 12 months.

And ... here's more from Stats Canada ... BC Employment / Payroll Employment (All industries excluding unclassified enterprises):

2007 ... 1,857,808 employed
2008 ... 1,906,081 employed
2009 ... 1,846,406 employed
2010 ... 1,839,129 employed
2011 ... 1,864,436 employed

Got your calculator handy folks ... that's a gain of just 6,628 people in the period between 2007 and 2011 ... or .004%

HERE'S THE REALITY ... this government has done very little, that has had a positive impact, on labour growth in BC --- they have done nothing that has resulted in good high paying jobs be developed ... the kinds of jobs that help men and women be able to comfortably raise families ... and for those families being able to own their own home

Here's another interesting statistic Kevin ... this time from "BC Stats"

In 2007 the NET Interprovincial migration in BC was 16,776
In 2008 the number of people moving to BC, from other provinces, decreased to 10,849
In 2009 it decreased again to 9,672
Again in 2010 we had a further decrease in people moving to BC ... this time to 6,212

That was followed in 2011 by the first negative numbers since we had an NDP government in BC ... we were minus 120!

Did 2012 go any better?  NO!

BC Stats only has figures available for the first six months of the year, but the tale they tell is more of the same:
The First Quarter of 2012 ... we had a net loss of 2,479 people
The Second Quarter of 2012 ... we were minus 1,196

So much for BC being the land of opportunity that the BC Liberals portray. If things are going so well, why have we had less and less people moving here from other provinces, to the point that there are now more people LEAVING BC than there are moving here?

Again Kevin ... would you care to dispute me on these FACTS?  Remember, they come from the Economic Statistics Report November 2012 (BC Stats)

My nephew seemed happy to congratulate Kevin in his initial barb to me and the BC Conservatives.  That included Krueger's totally unlikely claim the budget will be balanced this Spring --- and that BC has, and I quote, "... hundreds of thousands more jobs than ever before, with hundreds of thousands becoming available... "

That is about as big a manipulation of fact, as that BS we are being fed on government ads that glowingly praise the BC Liberal government.

If the BC Liberals are so proud of this crappy record of debts, and NO job gains, they should pay for it themselves.  The taxpayers of BC -- you and me -- should not be on the hook for the $15 million it's costing us!

So what did my friend Kevin have to say to this you ask?  "Swing and a miss," actually, Al

He then went on to say ...

S. Mark Twain wrote of "lies, damned lies, and statistics."

The bond rating agencies are keeping us at "Triple A," because THEY know whose statistics to rely on.

With Alberta, B.C. leads Canada in economic performance - and Canada leads the world. Alberta, however, is running a huge deficit. Ontario is running a $14 BILLION deficit presently. The USA is running well over a $TRILLION deficit. B.C. will be OUT of deficit as of April 1, with huge employment opportunities coming up in LNG, ship-building, mining, etc. and thousands of people training for them.

None of this happened by accident, but flows from good governance and sound economic policies. Had the HST not been reversed, we would be out of deficit already; we had to repay $1.6 billion to Canada.

This commentary has already been long enough ... but I think the facts speak for themselves:

1) The job gain record ...  according the Stats Canada ... was 6,628 people in the period between 2007 and 2011 ... just .004%

2) In 2007 we were a province that people in other areas of Canada wanted to move too (+16,776 in 2007).  Since then less and less people have moved here ... while more and more of our brightest and best from BC are now leaving for other areas of Canada (-3,675 in the first 6 months of 2012)

You are right Kevin, "None of this happened by accident".  These things happened on the watch of the BC Liberal government.

Your Christy Clark led government seems perfectly fine to boast of claims that are totally unsubstantiated -- using $15 million in taxpayer resources.

If only we as taxpayers could force you to spend $15 million, from BC Liberal bank accounts, to tell the truth of what both Statistics Canada --- and BC Stats --- KNOW to be true!

I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops ... with the thoughts of one conservative.