OPINION EDITORIAL

By Premier Gordon Campbell

As we come to the end of 2005, this is a good time to reflect on the hard work and commitment by people all over British Columbia - not just over the last year, but over the last four years.

British Columbia has grown into one of Canada's economic leaders and the nation's leading creator of jobs. More than 75,000 new jobs have been created this year alone and the vast majority of these jobs are full-time. The entire province is benefiting, with every region down to single-digit unemployment rates. More people are moving to B.C. than are moving to other provinces - a reversal of what happened in the 1990s.

British Columbians worked so hard to achieve this economic prosperity because it gives us the tools to build a better province for everyone - it gives us the power to make major investments in our province and our people.

For example, this year we opened the doors of new universities in Kamloops and Kelowna. We opened new medical school campuses in Prince George and Victoria. The first nurse practitioners graduated to help increase access to health care. We are in the midst of building 5,000 seniors' care beds. We've expanded hearing, dental, and vision screening to every child under six, as early and timely treatment can lead to the healthiest outcomes. And we eliminated provincial income taxes for low-income people making less than $15,500 a year.

British Columbia needs a strong economy to continue making these kinds of investments, and that's why we have taken a number of steps to ensure that B.C.'s economy remains one of the very best in all of Canada.

This year, we created new regional development initiatives for the North Island-Coast region and the Southern Interior, and expanded funding for the Northern Development Initiative. The Province will continue building toward British Columbia's Winter Olympic Games in 2010 and new opportunities will be created as a result of our Asia-Pacific Initiative.

Making citizens feel safer in their homes and in their neighbourhoods is another top priority of the provincial government. This past year, we passed a new law to seize the assets of criminals, brought in an Amber Alert system to help protect our children, and dedicated new funding to fight the scourge of crystal meth in our communities.

While our economy is strong, there are still some people who are not benefiting. We cannot move ahead while our Aboriginal citizens are left behind. Recently, I joined with the Prime Minister and all the Premiers of Canada in sitting down with Aboriginal leaders and creating a 10-year national plan to close the gap in the quality of life that now exists between Aboriginal people and other Canadians.

We've come a long way together since 2001, when the economy was at rock bottom, jobs were down, people were moving out of the province, we were facing some of the highest taxes in all of North America, and take-home pay was in decline.

The provincial government was spending far more than taxpayers could afford and B.C. had sunk to "have-not" status in Canada. Our health-care system was facing growing shortages of doctors and nurses and beds for seniors. The province's roads and highways were deteriorating from a failure to invest.

Our core resource industries were in economic distress.

B.C.'s big problems needed big solutions, so we reduced income taxes, cut red tape, balanced the budget and made long-term investments in health care, education and infrastructure. Though it wasn't easy, and at times it wasn't popular, we stuck with our plan and made real progress.

Our government received a strong vote of confidence in May. We were re-elected to sustain our strong economy, and move forward with our vision of Five Great Goals for a Golden Decade. In 2006, we will continue working together to lead the nation in health care, in education, in supporting people in need, and in environmental sustainability. Together we can continue to produce record levels of jobs and opportunity.

The past year was a great one for British Columbia - and we'll be working to make sure 2006 is even better.