Val Litwin and Sarah Weber: B.C. residents appreciate natural-resource industry as key to quality of life
Credit to Author: Hardip Johal| Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2020 02:00:27 +0000
To the casual observer, the recent blockade of the Swartz Bay ferry terminal by anti-pipeline protesters gives the impression that most British Columbians are dead set against resource development projects. But is that really the case?
The B.C. Natural Resources Survey, recently completed by the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, C3 Alliance Corp., and Abacus Data, sheds new light on British Columbians’ perceptions of the foundational industries driving our provincial economy. Survey results show that B.C. residents have a deep understanding of and appreciation for the integral role natural resources play in contributing to our quality of life and want the provincial government to encourage more investment in natural-resource development.
Forestry, mining, energy, natural gas, LNG and other resource industries account for about 80 per cent of the province’s exports and 8.6 per cent of our GDP, underpinning hundreds-of-thousands of jobs. B.C.’s reliance on clean hydroelectricity gives our resource sector a distinct low-carbon advantage. Exports of clean-burning natural gas and LNG have the potential for displacing polluting coal-fired plants in China and India, which needs to be more aggressively promoted both within B.C. and globally.
While the majority of British Columbians think the resource sector has a bright future, residents believe progress is hampered by well-publicized protest campaigns, excessive government regulations, concerns about climate change, high labour costs and insufficient government incentives to attract investment.
The B.C. government, to its credit, is addressing climate change through its CleanB.C. plan introduced in 2018, which sets caps on provincial greenhouse-gas emissions and earmarks carbon-tax revenues from industry to fund clean-innovation projects, among other initiatives.
Reducing climate change is a marathon.
It takes years before material results are measurable. The government could bolster its climate-change efforts by making environmental programs and incentives more accessible to small businesses that comprise the resource sector’s vast supply chain. This includes changing the parameters for projects to be eligible for government funding, simplifying and streamlining the application and reporting process for government programs, and offering upfront funding and support for programs to reduce initial hard costs borne by small business.
To stimulate more robust economic development, B.C. needs to take a hard look at its regulatory review process for major projects. Regulatory duplication and inconsistency among different provincial ministries and levels of government deter investment and damage the province’s competitiveness. Government needs to work collectively to reduce unnecessary red tape and streamline regulations and approvals to get stalled resource projects off the ground and help put more people to work.
B.C.’s forest industry, which has long been the economic cornerstone of the province, is undergoing severe economic challenges. One of the major issues facing forestry is the under-harvest of the Allowable Annual Cut (AAC) in coastal regions of B.C. due to the high cost and difficulty of timber extraction in the area. The harvest of the full AAC would generate additional employment and economic activity in forest-dependent communities, generating tax revenues and stimulating reinvestment in the industry.
As part of a long-overdue package of forestry-policy reforms, staffing levels need to be increased within the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development to expedite cutting permit approvals and improve access to timber. Increased investment in product- and market-development programs would also help facilitate entry to international markets, which would rekindle our integral forest industry.
British Columbians have many reasons to be proud of their resource sector — well-paying skilled jobs, well-run businesses, technologically advanced companies and responsible environmental practices. However, for the sector to continue to prosper, public-policy changes need to reflect the inherent risks of a deteriorating global economy and the implications for our essential resources industries.
To realize the full potential of B.C.’s rich resource endowment, we need to first change the narrative to dispel the many myths, misconceptions and misrepresentations surrounding resource development in this province. Collectively, all British Columbians have a responsibility to speak out and champion the benefits and opportunities that our resource industries provide that contribute to the quality of life we all enjoy.
Val Litwin is president and CEO of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce. Sarah Weber is president and CEO of C3 Alliance Corp., host of the B.C. Natural Resources Forum in Prince George this week.