BCBusiness

24 BCBusiness FEBRUARy 2018 going on about the future and fate of the 2,000-odd workers in the Fort St. John area vis-à-vis Site C, what people are overlook- ing is that, by their very nature, these large-scale resource development projects feature a highly mobile and transient workforce that will come into a project and live in self-contained accommodation camps. They're here for a very short time, and at the end of the construction phase, they're gone. And we need to understand that 2,000 people are not going to be home- steading or sending their kids to school. They're not going to be joining the local Rotary Club. you've been outspoken about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Do you think he's willingly broken his promises to the Indigenous community? The short answer is yes. He promised that he would do a complete teardown of the Canadian environmental assess- ment process and the National Enerƒy Board approval process. And then he completely reneged on that promise. I think they tacked on an additional four months of an already fun- damentally †awed process and expected all of us to say, "Well that was great; really appreciate that consideration." So those bridges have been crossed. Do you have faith in the NDP- led provincial government? We're deŒnitely moving in the right direction, and my sense is that it's only because the Horgan government has been willing to engage. The tyranny of the status quo is what stands in the way, and that was totally exempliŒed and demonstrated by the previous Clark govern- ment. They weren't willing to engage in any discussions at all. But again, you have the Horgan government saying, "What would this look like? How can we work together?" And I believe Mr. Horgan is going to surprise a lot of people in terms of protect- ing the interests of all British Columbians. Have you ever considered run- ning for political office? No. Not once? In this business, in terms of my own set of values, I'm not that person who gets out of bed one morning and decides that I'm going to run for a particular o"ce. In all of my experience, I've only stood for o"ce [on band councils] when I've been approached and people have asked me to run, and I've hon- oured that approach. I think this is my place here. This interview has been edited SOURCES: DESMOG CANADA, FORUM RE- SEARCH, EKOS RESEARCH ASSOCiATES, BC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SEE YOu IN COuRT 18 Number of legal proceedings against Kinder Morgan Canada's trans Mountain Expansion project as of decem- ber 2017 57%/53% Proportion of British Columbi- ans opposed to the pipeline expansion, according to 2016 polls by Forum Research and Ekos Research Associates, respectively 54.6% in a Novem- ber 2017 poll, propor- tion of BC Chamber of Commerce mem- bers supporting the pipeline expansion, versus 23.5 per cent taking a neutral stance N o w w i t h o f f i c e s i N : VaNcouVer 11th Floor, 1050 West Pender St. south surrey Suite 302, 2626 Croydon Drive abbotsford Suite 201, 2001 McCallum Road manningellio .com Growth for its own sake may benefit a few. Growth with a purpose is progress and brings benefits to many. Manning Ellio is growing with a purpose. Manning Ellio LLP and Leed Advisors Inc. are pleased to announce their merger as of January 1, 2018. The merger extends the reach of Manning Ellio into the fast-growing Surrey/Langley region, while providing greater resources and an expanded range of services to clients. Our South Surrey loca on will offer clients: • The full range of tax, accoun ng and consul ng services focusing on owner managed businesses • Greater capacity to serve larger and growing companies • Greater knowledge and reach with respect to interna onal markets and tax prac ces • More experience and exper se to help your company innovate, thrive and grow in all economic circumstances Let's grow together! Call us at 604-714-3600 to discover what Manning Ellio LLP can bring to your business. Growth & Progress …

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