To the editor:
I am compelled to respond to your Jan. 14 editorial, headlined Jobs promise broken.
The editorial has a hole big enough to drive a 230-tonne ore truck through and, frankly, I am disappointed with the newspaper for publishing such misinformed nonsense.
The thrust of the editorial is that government is not creating jobs for British Columbians, as was promised in the 2013 election, and in particular, the writer claims this is true of the Site C project.
First of all, let’s remember who had the courage to go ahead with the $8.3-billion, decade-long mega-hydroelectric project – the B.C. Liberal government. If it were up to the NDP, there would not be the 10,000 jobs that Site C will create because they say “no” to everything.
Furthermore, at Christmastime, 75 per cent of all workers at the work site were British Columbians. That’s because BC Hydro requires winning contractors to participate in regional job fairs to look for employees and to participate in regional “business to business” networking sessions to identify B.C. businesses that can deliver the skills, services and products necessary.
Is there a guarantee that every single one of 10,000 jobs will be held by a British Columbian?
Of course not. First of all, restricting other Canadians from working in another province is unconstitutional.
Those who spout off about “guarantees” are either ignorant of the law or are deliberately misleading the public.
But fortunately, there are ways to ensure British Columbians have every opportunity to benefit from the Site C project and BC Hydro has taken steps in this direction. Having 75 per cent of all workers so far from B.C. is certainly proof in the pudding that it’s working!
The writer of the editorial says “2017 is not that far off.” He’s right, and in 2017, my constituents will have a clear choice if they want to keep the economy growing and B.C. leading Canada, or go back to the negative, pessimistic view of the world that this editorial writer seems to have in common with the NDP.
Donna Barnett, MLA
Cariboo Chilcotin