Why should business support the NDP this time around?
Because the major issue facing businesses today is a lack of skilled labour and the only ministry the current government cut in nominal terms in the last budget was the Ministry of Advanced Education – at a time when there’s a skills shortage and a skills crisis.
So you’d put more money into skills training?
That clearly would be a focus. It’s a lot harder and a lot more expensive to get into university and skills programs today than it was. We propose re-instating non-refundable student grants to help those students who are blocked from getting into the post-secondary system for financial reasons. According to the government itself, [B.C. will be] 61,000 skilled workers short by 2020.
What would you do to attract investment?
Skills training is important. Resolving First Nations claims is a key economic question. Thirdly, because we’re a trading province, we need to have a policy for the promotion of trade that is much more aligned with targets in public policy than it is today. I think people think trade policy today is the premier goes on tour once in awhile. Other jurisdictions such as New Zealand – similar-sized to us, four million people to our four million people – they have targets, they have sector by sector plans, they do it systematically. We don’t do that, and I think those are important things. And finally it’s outstanding public services, and that means it’s clear we’ve got to be competitive on tax.
What are your plans for taxes?
We’ve got to return the corporate tax rate to 2008 rates prior to the [reduction] that was made around the carbon tax. We’ve got to take that back so we can use some of that carbon tax money for infrastructure. We’re in a crisis of infrastructure in Metro Vancouver, and [the Liberal] government doesn’t want to pay for it in any way – they want to do it all, they want to announce it all, they don’t want to do any of it. Also, we’ve got to reinstate a minimum tax on financial institutions to pay for the post-secondary [non-refundable grants] initiative I’ve put forward.
Would you re-tool the PST so that it would be less punitive to business sectors in the province that will be hit hard by the elimination of the HST?
I think initially we have to return to the PST. That’s what people voted for, and I think we have to respect that. The PST was in place from 1948 to June 30, 2010, and it changed often. If people want to make the case for policy change, they should make the case for policy change.
Do you have any plans for new taxes?
I think there’s relatively little room.
Would you eliminate the carbon tax?
No.
Would you raise it?
If there’s any decisions on taxation, we’ll let people know well in advance of the election, and we’ll have a costed program.
A recently released Canadian Federation of Independent Business poll found that 73% of British Columbians support a Compensation Equity Act that would curb the province’s spending on public sector remuneration. Would you support it?
Well, my dad ran a business in this town for 42 years, and he’s always supported teachers and health-care workers and everyone else, so I understand that there are people politically agitating on these questions, but I think we have to be fair.
And fair is status quo?
The [BC] Liberal Party is in power, and they’ve done all these things [to freeze or cut health-care workers’ and teachers’ compensation], and I guess the argument from some of their supporters is that they haven’t gone far enough. But I have a different approach.
There’s a shortage of head offices in this town and in B.C. generally. How would you address that?
The most important head office in B.C. arguably is Telus. So what you do when you’re trying to build a good relationship with an important company like Telus is you follow through on your agreements and you don’t ask them to do something and then pull the carpet out from under them just before you’re going to do it. We’ve always had trouble getting head offices; it’s increasingly an issue now and so part of that is I think that relationship building, but it’s also letting people know in a clear way what you’re going to do in advance of doing it. So people are going to know [what we’ll do] on taxation questions.
Which business sectors do you think stand to gain the most from an NDP government?
If you look at an industry such as forestry, where we’ve lost under the current government’s policies 35,000 jobs in 10 years, and … because it has been down times in employment in the industry and because that message has gone through the whole economy they’re suffering from a major skills shortage. That industry would benefit enormously from a government which is committed to addressing a skills shortage.
What will you cut to reduce debt and fund your spending priorities?
In health care, there’s some specific ways we could do things more efficiently, and that means shifting the way we do health care to emphasize primary care and emphasize home care and home support [and] to reduce the cost of prescription drugs.
Will you eliminate bonuses for Crown corporation heads?
Bonus systems in monopoly Crown corporations and government systems don’t make sense in general. There are some small exceptions; for example, if you’re a trader for Powerex and we’re competing and they’re very valuable people in the private sector, that’s the competitive market there and you can make an argument for [bonuses] at Powerex. But at BC Hydro? BC Ferries? I think that the bonus system doesn’t make sense.
Do you have a goal for a balanced budget?
If you have what happened to the Liberal government in [2009-10] when you see a drop in revenue, that would be exactly the wrong time to be cutting health care to try and chase that. That’s why I’ve always been opposed to balanced budget legislation. You have to in the good years run surpluses to meet problems in the bad years when you inevitably run deficits.
How would you accelerate the treaty process with B.C.’s First Nations?
In this case, it’s a matter of giving it priority. When our premier met with Mr. [Stephen] Harper when she first became premier, the first issue she raised was overturning the Prosperity Mine decision, and I think the first thing a premier should meet with the prime minister about is how we should address these issues. In fairness to the prime minister, I think he’s interested in doing it too.
Would you change the environmental permitting process and if so, how?
We need to have tough environmental standards, but we need to have a process where we get to a decision at some point.
So a faster, more streamlined process?
Absolutely.
A lot of businesses are afraid of an NDP government. Do you have plans to address that?
My job is to meet with them. Sometimes these things get staged as phony debates, and we need to do a better job of meeting and communicating. That’s what I’m focused on doing, and I understand there’s going to be concern. But to succeed in the things I want to do – whether it’s skills training or rebuilding a manufacturing base in forestry – I’m not going to be able to do that unless I have a working relationship with the business community. They are absolutely central players in those questions. •
