Editor:
Statistics Canada has announced the loss of almost 16,000 jobs in January in B.C.
These job losses were concentrated in construction and ‘helping.’
In particular, most of these losses were born by women over 25 with part-time jobs in caregiving and social assistance, two areas that are funded by the B.C. government.
This is the reality behind the endless TV advertising by the BC Liberals in their pre-election campaign, funded by the taxpayers under the pretense that “it’s all about jobs.”
In reality, ever since Premier Christy Clark launched her “BC Jobs Plan” almost 18 months ago, the B.C. private sector has lost nearly 40,000 jobs, including many in the construction industry, which is the largest contributor to the BC Liberals election fund. The result is that B.C. has the third worst job growth in Canada in the last 12 months.
The BC Liberals are obsessed with presenting an image that they are better “stewards of the economy” than the NDP – this is the core of their election strategy, but to do this they have chosen to sell off B.C.’s assets, make give-away deals with Chinese and foreign mining companies, slash health funding and increase MSP premiums etc.
This is not economic management – it is a scorched-earth policy to keep their own well-paid jobs at any cost (to the rest of us).
I hope voters will remember these dismal results when the election rolls around in May.
Herb Spencer, Surrey
