BCBusiness

35 BC BU S I N E S S .C A O C T O B E R 2 0 24 She ran in Vancouver-False Creek, a riding that had only gone BC Liberal-red in its previous three elections, against for- mer Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan, who hadn't lost an election in his 27-year politi- cal career. She beat Sullivan by some 2,000 votes in a contest where over 24,000 bal- lots were cast. "It was a tough campaign, very contentious. It got a bit ugly in a few places," says Bailey, thinking back on the many unhoused people in the riding. "Of course we want to have safety for everyone in the community, but we want to do it in a way that's compassionate." Sullivan, reached by email, said that he didn't actually see Bailey during the cam- paign, adding that she was focused on get- ting a school built in Olympic Village: "All of my interactions with her were good before the campaign and after it, and she seemed like a nice person." (Earlier this year, the NDP announced $150 million in funding for an Olympic Village school, 17 years after the site was first chosen. It is slated to open to 630 students in 2029.) Bailey was given the role of parlia- mentary secretary for technology and innovation by Horgan before current pre- mier David Eby dubbed her the first JEDI minister. She has spent much of her time in the role out in public, whether that's attend- ing fundraising announcements (like a recent one at the office of Aspect Biosys- tems in which the province committed $23.7 million to help the company develop its innovative bio-printed tissue work) or conferences and trade delegations to other countries. Bailey also played a major role in bringing Toronto's famed Collision tech conference to B.C. under the new moni- ker of Web Summit Vancouver, something she's confident will result in millions of dol- lars in tech deals landing in the province. There seems to be no doubt that she's got the backing of the tech sector, even through some challenging times of late. "Brenda is an icon in the games business here in B.C. and in Canada," says Josh Nil- son, co-founder and former CEO of Van- couver's East Side Games. "I don't know many people that work as hard as she does to make our industry better now and for the future." Episode VI: Return of the JEDI? In terms of being out in the community, Bailey's record is hard to question. She rou- tinely leaves Victoria on Thursday night and heads back on Sunday when the legislature is in session. "She's always doing three or four events a night in addition to working during the day," says Brown-Ganzert. It's a schedule that she describes as demanding, especially when trying to find time to connect with her three adult chil- dren. The balancing act is made possible in part, she says, by having a supportive partner—Bijan Sanii, CEO of fintech firm INETCO Systems Ltd. "I haven't always had that," she says. Even the official opposition critic for her ministry, BC United MLA Todd Stone, who admits that he doesn't know Bailey well on a personal level, describes her as "some- one who seems to work hard. She takes the time to get out and in front of businesses." Bailey knows, however, that her govern- ment has some work to do when it comes to other parts of her portfolio. "I don't think in my 57 years I've ever seen a time where there have been more pressures on small businesses from everywhere," she says, pointing to global inflation, supply chain challenges, interest rates and a shift in consumer behaviour. "Brenda is just another minister in a long string of jobs ministers that have pre- sided over a very rapid deterioration of the private sector economy in B.C.," says Stone, noting some Business Council of B.C. reports that show, over the last seven years, that employment in the public sector has grown around five times more quickly than in the private sector. Stone blames, in part, regulations on industries like forestry and mining. "There isn't a private sector jobs plan... None of this is sustainable." For her part, Bailey points to measures like providing grants that don't need to be paid back instead of loans for small busi- nesses, and increasing the employer health tax threshold in the 2024 budget: "That expansion is a really big deal for small busi- nesses—it was the number one thing they were asking us for." She also clearly hasn't forgotten where she came from. Thinking back on those conversations around the kitchen table in her youth, she says they gave her the belief that you can consider both forestry and the environment—something she worked to demonstrate when she announced up to $6.7 million in grants for Kalesnikoff Mass Timber in Castlegar. Back at Academie Duello, she gathers her supporters together in a circle and talks about some of the work her govern- ment has done for the tech sector. Most of it is routine, the precise and considered statements that anyone who has spent time with Bailey is familiar with. Until it isn't. "I want..." Bailey says, pausing to col- lect herself as she tears up, "that little girl on Vancouver Island with a dream to see herself in tech." By early August, neither BC United nor the Conservative Party of BC had named candidates in Bailey's riding. The fight that she's been powering up her lightsaber for will have to wait a little while longer. But it is coming. PROPERLY FETTED Bailey has been a big fan of the Star Wars franchise since she first saw A New Hope as a young girl on Vancouver Island

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