Cries for help beneath Olympic cheers

by Jim Sinclair, President, BC Federation of Labour

Against a backdrop of the Winter Olympics, and talk of early signs of economic recovery, the Lieutenant Governor will present a Throne Speech on February 9. Three weeks later Finance Minister Colin Hansen will present a provincial budget.

This last year has been particularly hard on our province.

BC has lost jobs at a faster rate than most parts of the country. BC has seen 70,000 full time jobs disappear in the last 12 months alone. Our unemployment rate is over 8 percent, and youth unemployment is more than double that.

This so-called jobless recovery that we may be witnessing will offer no relief to British Columbians who have lost their job, seen their unemployment insurance run out or who are struggling to make ends meet by working low-paid, part-time jobs.

First and foremost, the Campbell government must present a plan that creates and protects jobs.

The Campbell government responded to the economic collapse last year with a half-hearted stimulus plan, preferring tax cuts over deficit spending to stimulate the economy. This, despite general consensus among economists that whereas a billion dollars in tax cuts creates about 6,000 jobs, the same amount of money spent on physical infrastructure creates about 16,000 jobs and 20,000 jobs if that billion dollars is invested in public services such as healthcare and education.

The provincial government must continue to stimulate the BC economy through infrastructure and human infrastructure spending.

In times of economic uncertainty, the last thing our provincial government should be doing is adding fuel to the fire by slashing services and adding to the unemployment rolls. BC already has one of the leanest public services in the country. We know that public sector layoffs have a ripple effect in the private sector and lead to even more job losses. A jobs budget means putting in place a moratorium on all public service layoffs and committing to replacing those who quit or retire.

This government must not forget that a few short years ago, companies in BC were forced to bring in foreign-trained workers to address a home-grown skills shortage. Whether it was doubling tuition or dismantling our apprenticeship system, this government has a track record of making it more difficult for people to train. This government needs to be confident that the economy will recover and look forward to the skills we will need when it does.

Instead of bragging about tax cuts, and contemplating even more tax cuts, this government must begin to talk about tax fairness. Since coming to power, the Campbell government has slashed about $3.5 billion in annual taxes. Tax cuts have left the province poorly positioned to weather the current recession without making cuts to important public services.

The Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) only makes this worse by raising taxes by $2 billion for working people. The HST won't fund much needed services. Instead, it will give even more tax cuts to the corporations and the wealthy who run them. BC now ranks 9th amongst the provinces in economic growth, so the Campbell government's tax cuts also failed to deliver the economic growth and jobs the Liberals promised.

We desperately need to hear the government say it has a plan to bring back good paying jobs in manufacturing, forestry and other resource sectors. The plan must include a moratorium on log exports, massive investment in training and help for ailing industries.

We must also hope that the government finally addresses BC's minimum wage which is the lowest in the country and has become a national embarrassment. In the last 12 months, every province and territory has increased their minimum wage. Most recently, New Brunswick, one of the poorest provinces in the country, announced a bold plan to increase their minimum wage to $10 by September of next year.

Whether it's the CEO of BC Ferries or Premier Campbell himself, this government has found ways to justify massive increases to already high salaries. Our minimum wage workers, the majority of whom are 20 years and older and trying to make their way in the world, are long overdue for an increase.

Now is not the time to balance the budget at all costs. It's a time to stand with British Columbians, protect our most vulnerable and invest in public and human infrastructure so our province is well positioned for sustainable economic growth when the economy inevitably recovers.

When the Lieutenant Governor reads the Throne Speech, British Columbians need to know that Olympic cheering has not drowned out the growing cry by British Columbians for real leadership in tough economic times.