Editor:
The big smiling premier from Kelowna always knew defeat in politics was inevitable. After all, no political party rules forever. It could come after one term, or two or three or four, but a loss was always coming. It was just a matter of time.
W.A.C. Bennett had been premier for 20 years when the NDP finally defeated him in 1972. But he saw that loss as an opportunity to cement another generation of free enterprise government.
As we prepare for premier John Horgan 鈥� with his Green-infused plans to raise taxes, kill responsible resource development projects, strangle job creators with red tape, and go into deficit 鈥� W.A.C.鈥檚 words ring true again. B.C. is about to experience the economic pain NDP governments inevitably cause in British Columbia.
B.C.鈥檚 finger is on the hot stove again. Horgan and Andrew Weaver live 1282 km away from the Site C dam, but are rigging the B.C. Utilities Commission process to kill Site C, and fire 2200 construction workers. These men and women got up this morning and went to the job site to support their families and build a project that will deliver clean reliable power for future generations.
Site C spent more than a decade going through environmental assessments and regulatory reviews, and was signed off by both the federal and provincial governments 鈥� all of which was upheld by a unanimous decision of the B.C. Court of Appeal last fall.
Horgan and Weaver鈥檚 backroom deal promises a Site C review based on 鈥渃urrent鈥� energy supply and demand. This stacks the deck against a project that isn鈥檛 being built for today, but to help meet B.C.鈥檚 electricity needs for the next century, and to offer a climate-friendly alternative to fossil fuels.
The NDP-Green goal of 鈥渞evitalizing the environmental review process鈥� is code for finding ways to get to 鈥渘o.鈥� They plan to inject their politics into every regulatory and environmental review of important energy, resource and infrastructure projects.
Not found in the Horgan-Weaver pact: any prospect of a balanced budget, any target for economic growth, any plan to build the infrastructure we need to compete in a global economy, or any plan to harness our natural resources responsibly. In short, no bold vision to build our province.
Sincerely,
Chris Gardner
President of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association
