NDP Ads Attack Private Sector, Try to Take BC Back to 1990's

April 7, 2009

The NDP have released another negative TV ad that attacks private sector investment in our transportation system, our forest industry, our clean energy industry and our construction industry.
 
Consider the examples: The NDP is attacking a $1 billion partnership with BC Rail even though that partnership created the $135 million Northern Development Initiative; provided $30 million for the expansion of the Port of Prince Rupert which is providing faster service to key markets; created new jobs at the Prince George Wheel Shop and intermodal facility; and expanded service with 800 new rails cars. The NDP wants to erase those opportunities and the jobs they support.
 
The NDP is attacking companies that have invested millions in B.C.’s forest industry, just because they also invest in other jurisdictions. This includes companies like Neucel Specialty Cellulose which is based in Vancouver but financed by non-resident investors, and has invested millions to re-open the Port Alice mill and put 400 workers back on the job. The NDP want to say no to those investment opportunities and jobs, still preferring to pursue trade wars with foreign markets instead of accessing their potential.
 
The NDP is attacking our clean energy industry that is investing billions of dollars in B.C.’s economy and creating thousands of jobs to produce clean electricity. The NDP, along with their big union supporters, have an ideological opposition to the industry. Meanwhile, First Nations, communities and over 1,000 workers building these projects would be abandoned, and there would still be no plan for new power in B.C. 
 
The NDP is attacking public-private partnerships like the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre that the Auditor General has confirmed saved taxpayers $39 million. Those savings are being reinvested in patient care, and into the numerous other new hospitals that are being built under this unique model. The NDP says these investments are unwelcome, that patients should not benefit from these new facilities, and that thousands workers do not deserve the well-paying jobs that come with construction.
 
These ads make it clear that Carole James and the NDP’s only plan for our economy is to destroy jobs and drive private sector investment out of B.C., just like they did in the 1990s. They are ideologically opposed to any innovation and any harnessing of the private sector to enhance our services and create jobs in our rural communities.
 
We’ve seen this formula before – it was reckless, irresponsible and dishonest back in the 1990s, and it’s reckless, irresponsible and dishonest now.

For more on the NDP’s dishonesty in these ads, click here.