You say that red tape is still a
big burden for business. Isn't
strong regulation important?
Absolutely. For an economy to
be successful, you need rules,
and you need terms of reference
to make sure there's a level play-
ing eld….The red tape we want
to remove is the common-sense
stu• that makes business easier
and is good for the economy.
How big an issue is the north-
south divide in B.C.?
Typically the 604/250 dichot-
omy has revolved around this
notion that our resource wealth
is generated in these northern
communities or rural commu-
nities, but then it's the centres
that benet but maybe aren't
appreciative of the prosperity.
But as a network, one of the val-
ues we can bring to the larger
business community is this mes-
sage of "We're all in it together,
and we understand that we're
all connected." We need to all
stand up and support some of
these terric resource develop-
ment projects that are being
considered right now.
What do you say to the many
people, including members
of the business community,
who oppose pipelines and
other resource projects?
We have to appreciate where
our wealth and prosperity
currently come from, and how
that wealth generation is going
to play a big part in our future
prosperity. But I would also say
to those that are against these
projects or have concerns...and
the facts bear this out: we have
one of the most robust, thor-
ough and accountable environ-
mental assessment processes
on the planet.
How would a change of
government in May affect the
business environment?
Businesses want certainty, but
they also want you to remove
obstacles, and the party that
does that is, I think, the party
that will be best for B.C.
What's your outlook for the
provincial economy?
We're leading in economic
growth, very low average unem-
ployment, balanced budgets
for the last ve years. So we're
poised, but there is a medium-
term window where we need to
stay focused. We need to make
sure some of these key enerŠy
projects get approved. And
Donald Trump appears to be
pouring gas on the economic re
in the U.S. But that could also
accelerate the approach of the
next U.S. recession.
So if we've perhaps got a
couple of years to capitalize on
this outstanding moment we're
having, and of course the Ameri-
can economy is a huge in'uence
on ours, my message would be
it's time to seize the moment.
Advocacy group
founded in 1951
Represents
36,000
businesses
and about
130
chambers of
commerce and
boards of trade
Key advocacy
issues include
public finance
and taxation,
trade, pro-
ductivity and
regulation
ABOUT THE
B.C. CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE
