Andrew Wilkinson says he’ll scrap the PST for a year to help the BC economy recover — will saving hundreds of dollars a year resonate with British Columbians? Jordan and Maclean ponder the potential gamechanger.

The following by ICBA VP-Communications Jordan Bateman first appeared on The Orca on September 27, 2020.

I walked through Horseshoe Bay a few weeks ago and I was stunned at the number of empty storefronts. For an affluent community, they have lost a large number of small businesses in recent months.

I got the same feeling this summer when I walked through Vancouver and Metrotown and Penticton and Kelowna. I felt it when I saw the massive price drops for office space, and some small construction sites sitting idle. It was obvious when radio and TV stations struggled to air any ads, and newspapers quietly disappeared into oblivion.

Small business owners are reeling. Many of already closed their doors through no fault of their own. They may have had a perfect business plan, great location, outstanding service, and wonderful product, but COVID-19 and the NDP government’s lack of support swallowed them anyway.

Behind each of those closed storefronts is an entrepreneur whose dream and financial security have been shattered. Their families now live on the razor’s edge. Gone too are the thousands of jobs those businesses created – nearly a quarter million lost since COVID-19 hit BC.

In May, Business Council of BC economist Jock Finlayson – not a man given to panic or hyperbole – laid out this startling projection:

“Looking ahead, we suspect that a significant number of B.C. businesses that existed when [2020] began will be gone by the end of 2021. Some have disappeared already, unable to survive the economic closures in place from mid-March to May. Many more will soon discover that while they are now able to do business, they cannot operate profitably in the ‘new normal.’

“Add it all up, and it’s likely that at least 10% and perhaps as many as 15% of the 200,000 B.C. businesses with paid employees could be gone by late 2021.”

That’s 30,000 businesses snuffed out. Thirty thousand business owners left high and dry – again, through no, or very little, fault of their own. Restaurants, cafes, arts and culture businesses, tourism operations, resource companies and their supporting businesses, gone.

The supports from the federal and provincial governments have been spotty at best; huge funds remain unallocated as the bureaucracy involved in getting them is insurmountable. Some cities went above and beyond, such as Quesnel:

But even those successful communities are all about holding on to what they used to have – not about growth.

And now we are at the tax deferral cliff, the bad weather, and likely a second wave of COVID-19. The situation is grim.

Instead of focusing on this challenge, John Horgan rolled out a bland, scattered $1.5 billion aid plan and called an election. For small business owners, it should be a clarion call: he’s not up to the task of rebuilding an economy.

What about the BC Liberals and the Greens? We’ll see when they release their platforms in the coming days. But right now, Horgan has left them an incredibly low bar to get over.

This op/ed by ICBA President Chris Gardner first appeared on The Orca on September 26, 2020.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

The provincial political landscape was crystal clear: the law said the next BC election would be held on October 16, 2021- a year from now. A signed agreement between the NDP and Greens kept the government stable. And the BC Liberals were putting aside party politics to work with the Provincial Health Officer and the NDP Health Minister to get BC through the global pandemic.

Instead, Premier John Horgan called an election for Saturday, October 24, 2020.

Why now? We are, after all, in the middle of a provincial emergency and a global pandemic. We have not experienced a job loss and health crisis of the proportions we are living through, ever. British Columbians have been asked to sacrifice much and give up a lot since the unprecedented shutdown of large parts of our economy last March.

Millions in our province were asked to stay home and simply do nothing. Businesses were shuttered, jobs were lost, and livelihoods threatened. Everything from high school graduations, weddings, community events, local and professional sports were all shut down. Tragically, thousands of families have lost loved ones and worse, have been unable to come together to mourn their loss.

Today, families across BC are focused on how to safely settle their children back into school, and businesses are on the verge of bankruptcy and are facing tax deferral cliffs. A second wave of COVID-19 infections seems to be upon us, and countries around the world are reimposing harsh shutdown measures. Uncertainty is the one word that now defines every part of our lives.

An election now, why? It is a question that John Horgan has been unable to answer to anyone’s satisfaction over the past few days. Early next year, conceivably, a vaccine or vaccines may be available, an important milestone if we are to once again enjoy aspects of our pre-COVID-19 life that have been so quickly taken away.

So why the rush to the polls now at the risk of people’s health, in the middle of a global pandemic, when we had stability in Victoria and when British Columbians are rightly focused on keeping their families safe and protecting their businesses and their jobs.

Sadly, no one should ever underestimate how tempting it is for politicians to act, well, like politicians. Riding high in the polls as British Columbians rallied together to take on COVID-19, John Horgan saw a chance to get the majority government he so desperately wants.

On Monday, John Horgan ripped up the agreement he signed with the leader of the Green Party and with every Green Party and NDP MLA in 2017 to form government. The public is rightly cynical about the frequency with which politicians break their word, but throwing out a signed contract lowers this bar significantly.

The point of fixed election dates is to level the playing field and take the politics out of when elections are called – with this political maneuver, politics has been injected back into the timing of this election.

Given the sacrifices we and our families have all made in our personal, professional and business lives, it is hard not to feel a great deal of frustration and indeed anger at the cavalier manner in which the NDP have rolled the dice with everyone’s health and in the pursuit of power.

I cannot think of any time more than now when we need leadership and not politics in Victoria.

Our Jordan Bateman and The Orca’s Maclean Kay talk about the first week of the 2020 BC election campaign, dominated by John Horgan’s ever-changing reasons for calling it.

ICBA’s Chris Gardner and Jordan Bateman discuss why John Horgan decided to break his word and go to the polls a year early (and during a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic). Spoiler alert: it’s selfishness.

In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, British Columbia will hold a provincial election Saturday, October 24, 2020.

While many BC voters would have preferred that Premier John Horgan keep his word and keep the government working on the important health and economic issues facing our province until the legislated fall 2021 election date, he has decided to send us to the polls.

Over the past three years, ICBA has done a lot of advocacy and policy work on the provincial scene. Below are some resources you may find helpful as you make your decision on who to support in the Oct. 24 vote – please feel free to share these with others.

We will update this web page throughout the election campaign with interesting analysis and resources for people working in construction and responsible resource development.

***WANT TO VOTE BY MAIL? REQUEST YOUR BALLOT HERE ASAP***

MEDIA

• Read The Orca for coverage of this election from a free enterprise point of view. ICBA’s Chris Gardner and Jordan Bateman are among dozens of contributors.
• Subscribe to The Fin, a free, daily email with all the BC election and business news you need. This is the single best roundup of what’s happening in BC.

OP/EDS

• NEW 9/29: Horgan gets failing grade on infrastructure and responsible resource development (#Get2Yes)
• NEW 9/28: Chris Gardner on why John Horgan called this election
• NEW 9/28: Jordan Bateman on how small businesses are reeling after COVID, and need action in this election campaign
• Chris Gardner on how BC comes back economically from COVID-19
• ICBA & 20 Other Employer Associations Oppose WorkSafe Changes
• All B.C. construction workers deserve opportunity to work on public projects
• Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Fair Bidding in BC
• From flattening the COVID-19 curve to Team B.C. recovery
• Chris Gardner on Charting a Road to Recovery
• Chris Gardner on Old-Fashioned Compulsory Trades Ignore Modern Construction Reality
• Chris Gardner on Housing affordability requires national, provincial and local action
• Jordan Bateman on BC’s other health crisis, opioids
• Jordan Bateman on the NDP’s broken promises to younger British Columbians

CONSTRUCTION MONITORS

Curious how the NDP Government has dealt with our industry over the past few years? There’s no better place to look than our Construction Monitors:

• NDP Burdening the B.C. Economy, When We Can Least Afford It (Fall 2020)
• BC Construction Provides a Model for Recovery (Summer 2020)
• Self-Imposed Uncertainty Clouds Major Projects Outlook (Winter 2019)
• Open Shop Dominant in Trades Training (Fall 2019)

FACEBOOK GRAPHICS

Every day during the campaign, ICBA’s Facebook offers one of 30 Things to Think About This Election:

• WEEK 2 -> September 30 – Not Enough for LNG
• WEEK 1 -> September 29 – Breaking His Word; September 28 – Underfunding Mental Health & Addiction; September 27 – Gouging the Young at ICBC; September 26 – Taking Away the Secret Ballot; September 25 – The Sweetheart Union Deal; September 24 – Tilting at TMX; September 23 – The Massey Mistake

PODCASTS

Every week, ICBA’s Chris Gardner and Jordan Bateman discuss the election issues important to construction contractors on our ICBA CAST:

• September 23 (Why are we doing an election now?) – VIDEO VERSION   AUDIO DOWNLOAD

Twice a week, ICBA’s Jordan Bateman and The Orca’s Maclean Kay get into the nitty-gritty of BC politics on the #BCPOLI HOTSTOVE:

• September 29 (Wilkinson’s PST Gamechanger) – VIDEO VERSION  AUDIO DOWNLOAD
• September 25 (Week 1, anyone having fun?) – VIDEO VERSION  AUDIO DOWNLOAD
• September 21 (The race is on… for some reason) – VIDEO VERSION   AUDIO DOWNLOAD

VIDEOS

Over the years, ICBA has released several videos highlighting provincial issues, which may be of help in understanding our issues and convincing undecided voters:

Everybody’s Stuck at Massey

A 1990s-style song parody looking at how the NDP Government killed a massively under-budget replacement for the Massey Tunnel, wasting $100 million, and leaving people in traffic for another decade.

Traffic’s Back

The ’90s too hip for you? Here’s a 1970s-style song parody looking at how the NDP Government killed a massively under-budget replacement for the Massey Tunnel, wasting $100 million, and leaving people in traffic for another decade.

Crushed by Taxes

Even before COVID-19, small businesses were barely hanging on, as the provincial government raised their taxes and fees and strangled them with red tape.

Big Gas Prices

ICBA’s most famous video looks at the cost of constantly increasing gasoline and carbon taxes, and fighting pipelines.

Horgan’s Zeroes

Despite several announcements, there is zero money in the NDP budget plan to build Surrey’s new hospital or SkyTrain extension.

Letting Young People Down

Life for people under age 35 in BC has gotten more expensive and more difficult over the past three years. Here are 10 ways how.

Horgan Government Gets an F

It’s a scandal many haven’t heard of – the provincial government messing up graduates’ provincial exams so badly that the independent Ombudsperson has ordered they pay out some 2019 grads and verify and sign truthfulness pledges before sending out news releases.

Rewarding Donors

The NDP Government gave 19 building trades unions the monopoly on building several massive infrastructure projects – meaning cost overruns of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Our Jordan Bateman and TheOrca.ca’s Maclean Kay, noted fall election skeptics, come to terms with John Horgan’s pandemic election call.

Today’s NDP government is often credited with being less dogmatic than its 1990s predecessors, as low a bar as that may be. But as we face the massive challenge of building back from the economic devastation of a global pandemic, it’s worth taking stock of this government’s track record.

Thus, the Fall 2020 edition of ICBA’s Construction Monitor.

When you dig into the numbers and policy pronouncements, it becomes evident that the Horgan government has already done more to re-shape the province than many British Columbians may realize. The playing field has certainly been tilted against contractors, entrepreneurs, businesspeople and job creators across B.C.

Looking just at the pre-pandemic period, the tax burden on British Columbians has increased significantly – and often in ways that do obvious harm to the economy and make our province less attractive to talent and investment. And even with all those extra tax dollars, debt has risen and surpluses have shrunk during the NDP mandate.

That’s compounded by a layering on of costs, constraints and complexities across the policy and regulatory frameworks that most impact the business climate – probably the most offensive example being the backroom deal with organized labour in the form of near-exclusive access to public infrastructure projects at the expense of 85 per cent of the construction workforce in B.C.

This would be troubling in the best of times. And, of course, we are living through anything but, with the distinct threat of a prolonged pandemic-induced recession. We need boldness from government, and a reduction in the costs, complexities and inequities that hold back a business-led economic recovery. The public record suggests that the current government needs to dramatically course correct to get B.C. heading in the right direction.

For the full Fall 2020 Construction Monitor – including eye-opening statistics – click HERE.