March 24, 2006
Check Against Delivery
It is a pleasure to be here again. I think this is maybe the third or fourth annual time we've met with the Chamber. And it's important for you to know what an important voice you have across the province, because the Chamber reaches out and touches communities in literally every corner of this province and every part and every region of the province. You become a very strong amplifier for us of the critical issues that our business community faces across the province.
And I want to take a moment to thank you for the contribution and the hard work of your president and CEO, John Winter. He has done a truly magnificent job on behalf of all of you. John has just agreed to sit on Rick Thorpe's Small Business Advisory Council.
We are moving forward in British Columbia. We are taking advantage of the foundation that's been built over the last four years, but we don't want anyone to lose sight of the fact that the job is not done. Our goal is still to become the best jurisdiction anywhere for a small business to begin, build and thrive. Because that is the future of our province; that's the future of jobs in British Columbia. And that's a key that the Chamber holds, so I want to say thanks for that.
I remember the first time I was invited to come and speak to the Chamber as the Premier of the province. It was in 2002, and it was the 50th anniversary of the Chamber, and I talked about how much things had changed in those 50 years. I used the old expression from Bill Gates, which is: things don't change as much in two years as you expect, but they change way more in ten. I can tell you, thinking back over the last four and a half years, they didn't change as much in two years as I would have wanted, but boy, have they changed in the last four and a half years in British Columbia.
In 2001, British Columbia ended the year with a drop in employment. We set in place a plan which in many ways was guided by the Chamber and the policies that you've recommended to us. You told us that we had to build a competitive tax regime, that we had to reduce income tax so people would know if you're willing to work hard, you will get ahead, and your family will do better.
You told us we had to deal with regulatory reform and remove the hidden costs and hidden taxes that were holding businesses back in the province, large and small.
As we went through our first budgets in 2002, we were faced with a $3.8 billion structural deficit and we asked How do we move this province back to where it should be
